SAN DIEGO — San Diego County changed its public-facing COVID-19 vaccine policy to say its vaccine clinics will accept a broad range of documents to verify identity after an inewsource investigation found health staff turned away individuals who wanted a vaccine but could not provide a photo ID.
In April, inewsource reported that a north San Diego County Latino immigrant rights group, Universidad Popular, saw members of the community denied vaccinations for not being able to provide a photo ID. At the time, the county’s public-facing literature said people seeking vaccinations must show a photo ID.
Advocates feared that requirement would discourage people living in the U.S. without permission from getting vaccinated.
Officials told inewsource that the county’s policy was to work with people seeking vaccines without a photo ID to verify their identity. However, emails obtained by inewsource showed confusion among county health staff about what type of documentation was needed to receive a vaccine.
The emails suggested staff had turned away individuals who did not provide a photo ID at the vaccine clinics.
Asked by inewsource how many people have been turned away for not having a photo ID, a county spokesperson could not provide an answer. Officials do not track those instances, he said.
The county maintains that its internal policy has always been to accept a broad range of ID, but recently changed the policy on its website to reflect that.
The website now reads that at vaccine clinics, adults “must provide a photo ID (other methods of identification verification accepted) AND proof of age (something that shows date of birth).”
To read the full story from inewsource, click here.
inewsource is a nonprofit, independently funded newsroom that produces impactful investigative and accountability journalism in San Diego County. Learn more at inewsource.org.
WATCH RELATED: Beware of possibly bogus pop-up COVID testing sites
