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PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
Two women in disguise were caught “pretending to be old” in an apparent attempt to qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, officials in Florida said.
The incident occurred at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, said Dr Raul Pino, director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, in a statement. press conference Thursday.
The women wore hats, gloves and glasses, according to Pino.
“We have no shortage of weapons willing to be vaccinated. We also have people claiming to be old to be vaccinated,” he said. “Yesterday we realized that two young women had come in disguise as grannies to be vaccinated for the second time.”
Although Pino does not know how the women received their first dose of the vaccine, he said they had valid vaccination cards with them.
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Pino said workers at the vaccination site were alerted when there were “problems with their identity cards and driver’s licenses.”
A spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told PEOPLE that the birthdates of the women – identified by authorities as Olga Monroy-Ramirez, 44, and Martha Vivian Monroy, 34 – did not match the ones they used to register for vaccines.
The names of the women matched the recording, the spokesperson said.
Health Department staff have asked deputies on site to issue trespass warnings against women, according to the sheriff’s office. No further enforcement action was taken.
Getty Orange County Convention Center
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According to the Florida Department of Health website at the Orange County website, Florida residents aged 65 or older are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Pino said in Thursday’s press conference that officials had “stepped up security” around the vaccination site.
“It’s the most popular product that exists right now,” Pino said of the COVID-19 vaccine. “We have to be very careful with the funds and resources provided to us.”
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