People from outside IL took 80% of Friday’s vaccine appointments in St. Clair County
St. Clair County officials say fewer COVID-19 vaccinations were administered Friday because of people who crossed state lines to try to “cheat the system” and get their shots ahead of their eligibility.
County Board Chairman Mark Kern said 80% of Friday’s scheduled appointments were made by people from as near as Missouri and as far away as California and Michigan. All were turned away, some of them ineligible to receive the vaccine under Illinois vaccination rules.
“Someone figured out how to get through the system and make it hard for people who legitimately need the vaccine, who live here to sign up,” Kern said. “... Someone or a group of people really hurt the system by trying to cheat and get around the rules as they exist.”
Kern and Herb Simmons, the county emergency management agency director, said a breach in the county’s appointment system allowed people to sign themselves up for vaccinations. It’s believed people shared and reshared the private link and password in text messages, emails and on social media until they went viral.
Once an appointment is made, the person who made it is automatically sent a text message or email with a QR code that is used to verify their identity against the county’s reservation system. They also must present photo identification at the vaccination site, which is how those who are not eligible to receive the shot are flagged and, subsequently, turned away.
Some used false information to make themselves appear eligible to receive the vaccine and to schedule vaccine appointments for themselves and family members.
Simmons said a 12-year-old was brought to the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds for a vaccination Friday. Children that age aren’t eligible in Illinois, and it hasn’t been announced when they will be under the state’s plan. He said entire families were showing up to be vaccinated Friday.
“Anytime someone who hasn’t followed the rule has to be turned away, that slows the process down,” Simmons said. “Please be from St. Clair County, and we will get you taken care of as quickly as possible.”
Not all cheaters
Not all ineligible people who showed up at the fairgrounds intended to skirt the rules.
Bob Guller, a Missouri resident who owns property and sometimes works in Belleville, said he didn’t think he was breaking any rules when he filled out the online form and received an appointment.
Guller, 54, said he received the link through a message from a friend. The message said a COVID-19 vaccination event was being held on Sunday and that people were encouraged to sign up so vaccines wouldn’t go to waste. Guller said he had no way of knowing that the information he received was inaccurate when he ended up getting an appointment for Friday, instead of Sunday.
“I’d been forwarded a link that said there were excess vaccines and they didn’t want to go to waste,” Guller said. “I completed the questionnaire accurately, including my residence in Missouri and my age and all the usual information that goes into qualifying people for vaccines.”
When he arrived at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds, Guller said he was politely turned away by a National Guard member and went about his business. He said, however, he disagrees with Kern’s contention that people “cheated the system.”
“It’s just not accurate,” Guller said. “I thought the tone there was that people were trying to get one over on the county.”
Guller said he believes the issue is with the system the county is using since he entered all of his correct information and received confirmation of his appointment.
“There was no intent there and there probably needs to be some tweaks to the system,” he said. “There may be people trying to skirt it (the vaccine system) and that is inappropriate and wrong.”
‘Clogged the system’
The county is currently only vaccinating health professionals and people 65 years or older. People from outside the county or state will not be vaccinated, Kern said.
Kern said the appointments by people who weren’t eligible “clogged the system” and wasted the National Guard manpower that has been allocated to the mass vaccination site at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds.
“When you have 800 people signed up that don’t meet the qualifications — they’re underage and they’re from Missouri — when you get rid of all those appointments now you have to fill those appointments for that day or you’re going to have too few people running through that day,” Kern said.
No vaccines were wasted Friday but more could have been administered. St. Clair County has vaccinated 1.88% of its population — or 4,902 people as of Friday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Kern said the county would “gladly” vaccinate St. Louis and Missouri residents if the state provided the vaccines. As it is, the state distributes vaccines to each based on their populations.
Simmons said officials at vaccination sites across the county are checking IDs to verify that those who have set up appointments are qualified to receive the vaccine. He said ineligible people won’t get a vaccine but will end up slowing down the process.
He said the county health department is looking for a long-term solution to avoid people sending out the link again. He said that the county doesn’t know who leaked the link to the scheduling site.
“We need people to be responsible,” Simmons said. “Be honest.”
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This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 4:21 PM.