Don’t Get Scammed When Registering for a COVID-19 Vaccine

Rae Austin, of ORMC, draws a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe on Wednesday. The hospital is vaccinating its health care workers. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]

The Florida Department of Health warns residents to be on guard for fraud and scams during the registration process for the COVID-19 vaccines.

In some Florida counties, officials saw fake vaccine registration pages demanding credit card payments from residents signing up for vaccine appointments.

Similar scams are occurring across the country and worldwide, in a variety of forms, including:

• Telephone calls offering vaccine registration for a fee
• E-mails or other solicitation purporting to be from a medical center seeking personal information to determine eligibility for a vaccine trial
• Marketers offering to ship vaccine doses, either domestically or internationally, for an exorbitant fee

Marion County residents should only use official government websites or official healthcare provider sites when registering online to receive any vaccine and remember that there will never be a charge for the vaccine.