Local Legislator Looking Into COVID-19 Vaccine Fraud

Ormond Beach, FL – The beginning of this year’s Florida legislative session is still seven weeks away but local Representative for District 25 Tom Leek will be in Tallahassee for his first meeting as Chair of the House Pandemics & Public Emergencies Committee this Thursday (January 14). Leek said there are two things he wants to accomplish during this first meeting. The first is the problem of vaccine fraud, where people are either selling fraudulent vaccines or vaccines that they don’t have or gathering personal information and selling that. "We are going to heighten the criminal penalty for selling fraudulent vaccines and for using the vaccines to steal people’s information." The second issue will be the vaccine supply. Leek said his committee will hear from the Director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, Jared Moskowitz. He’ll speak on the vaccine rollout and answer a couple of questions. "Director Moskowitz is going to come before the Committee and talk to us about the vaccine supply and the vaccine rollout and answer a couple of questions about how the supply has not met our expectations. Where do we go from here and how do we improve that situation." Leek shared the information that people with co-morbidities who do not currently meet the age criteria may be able to get the vaccine at area hospitals. "I do know that if you go through a hospital and you have co-morbidities you can get the vaccine whether you are 65 or not. It all depends on your doctor’s recommendation. My point is this: the hospital will do a medical assessment that a drive-up vaccine event cannot do and so if you have a co-morbidity, you should go through a hospital."