An emergency worker in Florida was arrested this week in connection with the theft of coronavirus vaccine doses, just 12 days after he had been recognized as a county’s “paramedic of the year,” the authorities said on Tuesday. The paramedic, Joshua Colon, 31, had been responsible for administering doses of the vaccine to firefighters in Polk County, the county’s sheriff, Grady Judd, said during a news conference. When he was pressed about the missing doses by a battalion chief, Mr. Colon falsified vaccine screening and consent forms with two false names and the name of a retired firefighter, Sheriff Judd said. The missing doses were illegally removed from a refrigerator by one of Mr. Colon’s supervisors, a fire captain, who told Mr. Colon to leave for his break, according to the sheriff. The fire captain, who is expected to face criminal charges in the vaccine theft, had previously asked Mr. Colon if he could help him obtain the vaccine for his mother, the authorities said.

Source: New York Times January 27, 2021 04:30 UTC