Polk County Fire and Rescue Captain Anthony Damiano was reported of stealing three COVID-19 vaccines with the help of paramedic Josh Colon. After getting arrested earlier this month, detectives monitored a phone call between the medic and Damiano (who wasn't arrested at the time), revealing the captain's wrong doings. The theft advised Colon to explain that the vaccines just simply fell off the desk at the station and were just never used.
On January 6th, reports revealed that two syringes of the vaccine was stolen for the captain's ill and elderly mother, but on January 26th, his mother claimed that she never received any vaccine from her son. Eventually two out of the three vaccines were found in Damiano's friend's car in St. Cloud (which had to be thrown away, but the Florida Health Department gave vaccines to the firefighters who didn't receive any). On Tuesday, Captain Anthony Damiano turned himself in at the Polk County Jail, facing a charge of official misconduct and petit theft, and paramedic Josh Colon is currently facing 16 charges including forgery and falsifying medical records.
“He betrayed those who worked for him by taking advantage of a paramedic. At the end of the day, he’s washed up, legally. He’s washed up with his colleagues,”- Sheriff Grady Judd.
After reading this article, I was absolutely disgusted by the actions of these two men. We are all going through the same situation, but we all need to wait our turn. Instead of remaining patient for a little while, Captain Damiano and paramedic Colon are facing several charges and are doing time in jail. Sadly, this isn't the only case of a COVID-19 vaccine theft. What are your thoughts on people stealing these vaccines?
https://www.wfla.com/news/polk-county/polk-county-fire-captain-accused-of-using-paramedic-to-steal-covid-19-vaccines/
Hi Coby, I think vaccine theft is terrible and unfair. While I can understand how people want to get the vaccine as soon as possible, especially for older or immunocompromised people who are at higher risk, it is best if everyone waits like they are supposed to. I feel like these reports of vaccine theft are just making this vaccination process more complicated and preventing it from running as smoothly.
ReplyDeleteHi Coby, I think that vaccine theft is very wrong and everyone should wait their turn for it. Some people need it more than others, and the way that the country is handling distribution is the best that they can. However, (not saying what they did was right, because it wasn’t) I think it is very wrong that cops and first responders didn’t get their vaccines first with healthcare workers. They are at more risk because when they arrive on the scene of a crime or emergency, they don’t know what the state of the people involved are. They could have COVID and they are not properly protected.
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