Two Florida women aged 34 and 44 dress up as GRANNIES in bonnets, gloves and glasses to get COVID vaccine early – and they only got caught when they showed up for the second dose
- The women aged 34 and 44 went to the Orlando Convention Center last month
- They got their first vaccine dose then returned on Wednesday for the second
- Health officials this time properly studied their IDs and realized they were lying
- They called the cops and the local sheriff is now investigating the incident
- It is the latest in a string incidents where people have lied to get vaccines
- Do you know the women who dressed up as grannies? Email [email protected]
Two Florida women aged 34 and 44 dressed up as grandmothers in bonnets, gloves and glasses to get the COVID vaccine early and they only got caught when they showed up for their second dose and health officials took a closer look at their IDs.
The pair have not been identified and have not been charged with any crime but sheriffs in Orange County near Orlando are investigating. The pair showed up to a vaccine site dressed up and managed to get their first dose.
It was only when they returned to the Orange County Convention Center on Wednesday morning for their second shot that they were caught.
Health officials looked at their IDs and realized the women were 34 and 44.
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Dr. Raul Pino of Florida Department of Health revealed what the women had done yesterday at a press conference, where he warned others against attempting vaccine fraud
Dr. Raul Pino of Florida Department of Health revealed what the women had done yesterday at a press conference, where he warned others against attempting vaccine fraud.
‘So yesterday, we realized a couple of young ladies came dressed up as grannies to get vaccinated for the second time.
‘So I don’t know how they escaped the first time, but they came vaccinated.
‘The bonnets, the gloves, the glasses, the whole thing. And they probably were in their 20s.
‘This is the hottest commodity that is out there right now, so we have to be very careful,’ he said.
It’s unclear what kind of charges the women will face.
Initially, deputies were called to escort them off the property for trespassing.
It’s unclear what happens if a person undergoes the first vaccine dose but not the second, and if the women will need to wait and get the first dose again once they are eligible.
The Orlando Convention Center, where the two women were caught pretending to be grannies, this week
The women had their CDC card from the first dose. It’s unclear how they got past officials the first time (file image)
It is the latest example in a string of incidents across the US and no doubt the world where people, desperate to get their hands on the coveted shots, have lied about their age, address or identity to get it.
In Canada, a wealthy couple chartered a plane to the Yukon to get vaccines that were intended for Indigenous elders.
Rodney Baker, 55, and 32-year-old Ekaterina Baker flew 1,700 miles from Vancouver to Beaver Creek, a community of 90 people in Canada’s far northwest, on January 21.
They posed as visiting hotel workers to receive shots of the Moderna vaccine from a mobile clinic but were rumbled before they could fly home.
The Bakers were fined C$2,300 (US$1,800) for breaching Covid rules but community elders are demanding a tougher penalty be handed down.
The pair may now face jail time.