While some providers require strict verification of eligibility to recieve a COVID-19 vaccine, others leave patients on the ‘honor system’ when scheduling an appointment.
                                 AP file photo

While some providers require strict verification of eligibility to recieve a COVID-19 vaccine, others leave patients on the ‘honor system’ when scheduling an appointment.

AP file photo

Some providers don’t verify patients’ eligibility to receive vaccine

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What’s stopping you from lying about your health in order to get vaccinated?

In some cases, nothing, with some providers preferring to use the “honor system,” while others require some amount of proof in order to schedule a vaccine appointment.

Currently, Pennsylvania is still in Phase 1A of vaccine distribution, the first of a total of four phases. Aimed at vaccinating those in most dire need of the COVID-19 vaccine, such as medical professionals and individuals who suffer from a variety of high-risk conditions, such as cancer, chronic kidney disease, various heart conditions or being smokers.

The Times Leader reached out to several of the larger-scale operations distributing vaccinations in Luzerne County to determine what, if anything, they’re doing to confirm that those scheduling appointments qualify to be in group 1A.

The Wright Center for Community Health has perhaps the most stringent requirements for “proof,” as the healthcare organization is only providing vaccines to people who are established patients who qualify or are healthcare workers at other organizations.

“When it comes to eligible patients, right now we are only vaccinating established patients of The Wright Center, which means we have full access to their electronic health records and can verify their eligibility, including age, qualifying health conditions, etc.,” said a statement provided to the Times Leader by the Wright Center.

The statement goes on to say that with the center’s online scheduling system anyone who is not already a patient or does not have qualifying medical conditions will receive an error message and will not be able to schedule an appointment.

Similarly, healthcare workers attempting to schedule an appointment will be required to sign a binding document and provide some sort of proof of their employment with a healthcare facility, such as a badge, pay stub or similar things.

Meanwhile, in the Geisinger system, Geisinger says it has not experienced anyone attempting to “jump the line,” so to speak.

“We haven’t experienced this issue, and we require all vaccine recipients to attest to the qualifications of Phase 1A during scheduling,” reads a brief statement sent to the Times Leader by Geisinger.

After that, that’s where things get hazy.

Communications with a representative from Wegmans shows that their pharmacies are requiring patients make an attestation that they qualify to get the vaccine, but don’t require them to prove it in any way.

Similarly, Rite Aid’s rules state that vaccines will only be given out to those who meet the requirement.

“Those who meet eligibility requirements for that state/jurisdiction can sign up for a vaccination at Rite Aid through the state or local jurisdiction online enrollment process,” says part of Rite Aid’s protocols around the vaccine, but the rules do not explicitly reference the need for patients to prove their eligibility.

Following the instructions for scheduling on Rite Aid’s website, which then requires patients to register through the state’s website. However, the Times Leader found that attempting to schedule an appointment at any of the Rite Aids within 50 miles of Wilkes-Barre led to a message that said there were currently no appointments scheduled due to high demand.

The city of Wilkes-Barre’s health director, Henry Radulski, also explicitly said that the city’s next vaccination clinic, which does not yet have a specific date, operates “on the honor system,” with no proof required of underlying medical conditions. That clinic will not be scheduled until the city obtains more vaccine doses.

At this point, it’s unclear when Pennsylvania will move into Phase 1B of vaccine distribution, let alone 1C or 2.