New York Attorney General Letitia James has warned New Yorkers about scams related to the coronavirus vaccine.
Today, nursing home residents, their caregivers, and many front-line healthcare workers are receiving the vaccine. The immunization will not be available to the general public for several more months, James said.
In accordance with federal guidelines, the second phase will offer the vaccine to nursing home residents and staff, in addition to other healthcare workers, followed by essential workers, and finally to members of the general population.
James warned of scammers offering access to the vaccine via email, phone, or text message, or posing as public health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO), and even a local Department of Health.
Be wary of anyone who calls or e-mails you with offers of a vaccine and does not give out your Social Security Number, personal credit card, or bank account information.
A legitimate vaccine distributor, health care company, or private insurance company will never ask for this information.
If you have health insurance, you shouldn’t have to pay anything out of pocket to get the vaccine as long as the pandemic remains a public health emergency. If you don’t have health insurance, the provider can only charge an administrative fee. However, in many cases, you probably won’t have to pay that fee.
You also won’t have to pay to get your name on a list to get the vaccine or to participate in a vaccine clinical trial.
If you receive an email about a COVID-19 vaccine or clinical trial, please check the sender’s email domain to make sure it matches the legitimate organization’s website and be careful to click on any hyperlinks or provide a start session or any other personal information.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has so far only licensed two vaccines for emergency use: the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine for use in people over the age of 16 and the Moderna vaccine, licensed for use in people over the age of 18 years.
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