SHOT IN THE DARK

Florida Clinic Overrun by Vaccine Seekers After False Rumor

Things got so bad, cops had to take control of the situation, according to local reports.

When a Florida vaccination site realized on Saturday that it had extra doses of COVID-19 vaccine on hand, it began offering inoculations to any adult who asked, rather than let the precious shots go to waste. But when word began to spread—and demand further snowballed after State Sen. Annette Taddeo tweeted, falsely, that the federally-run clinic had “no restrictions”—police had to calm the enormous crowd that gathered outside a day later.

“If you do not meet the criteria, you will not be vaccinated today,” an officer announced to some 200 people lined up expecting shots, few of whom appeared to qualify, according to the Miami Herald.

The vaccination center is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and normally provides about 500 doses a day. As is standard practice among most providers, leftover doses that would otherwise spoil can be offered to those who don not yet qualify for an inoculation.