COVID vaccine site closes after Hollywood, media workers skip the line in California
Pasadena officials canceled a COVID-19 vaccination clinic intended for people older than 65 and essential workers after hundreds of appointment slots were filled by ineligible workers, including those in the Hollywood and media industries.
People who aren’t yet eligible for the vaccine under California guidelines took 900 of the 1,500 slots, The Los Angeles Times reported, citing city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian. Many of the appointments were filled by Hollywood and media workers, including from streaming TV services, news outlets, production companies and people who work on the sets of soap operas.
“Hundreds signed up within the first hour,” Derderian said, saying someone apparently shared the registration link outside of the original group of eligible people. “It was like rapid fire.”
Pasadena officials were first notified of people trying to skip the line after a Los Angeles Times reporter called the city on Monday after receiving a registration link meant for essential workers and older adults, the publication reported.
Pasadena canceled Thursday’s clinic because the city usually audits every person who registers and calls to verify eligibility, but the staff couldn’t handle making hundreds of calls, according to Variety.
“900 was not a feasible amount to make those calls, so we determined that we need to cancel it and call the remaining ones that were legitimate,” Derderian said. “Unfortunately, a lot are the senior population that we’ve really been working hard to make contact with.”
Pasadena is considering changing their registration system to MyTurn, which could make verification easier, and is looking to reschedule the clinic for sometime early next week, Variety reported.
Derderian is urging people not to share vaccine registration links because it’s led to delays for eligible people, according to KABC.
”It takes away from those that are eligible and now cannot move forward. These senior populations and the other workers that we need to get vaccinated so they can move forward and (for) more openings in the next week,” Derderian said.
Efforts to “skip the line” and get the vaccine before people are eligible have been condemned by state officials. Last month, affluent residents were caught getting vaccines designated for low-income residents in a public housing project, Patch reported.
“I am not surprised. I’m disgusted,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said, according to the publication. “And I’m not disgusted at the work that we’re doing, but I’m more disgusted about the behavior of people in the public that are not being responsible.”
More than 10.9 million shots have been given in California as of Mar. 9, at least 19% of the state population has been administered one dose while 8.7% of the state is fully vaccinated, according to The New York Times.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 7:19 AM with the headline "COVID vaccine site closes after Hollywood, media workers skip the line in California."