I agree, I don’t think this would qualify under the Illinois statute, for this reason. Not sure how other jurisdictions might differ.
Another possibility is theft by deception, but again, it might not be a good fit.* And I’m not sure, unless there is somehow an outstandingly egregious case, that any prosecutors will go out of their way to try to shoehorn it in.
I did recall a prosecution of queue jumpers in Canada, linked below, but they were prosecuted for their quarantine violations.
They did also lie about their eligibility for the vaccine, but I don’t see any reports of additional charges based on that.
*It would not fall under theft by deception in my state.
There’s a thread about the “cancel culture” in the Pit. If the outrage gets high enough, jumping the line for a vaccine might put a person in the crosshairs for a public outing, followed by demands for resignation/firing, etc.
What a double standard that could be. A celebrity/politician/etc. could claim that their jumping the line was done to encourage others to get the vaccine. Those not in the public eye could only claim the same for a much more limited group.
Were we to go back to our previous lifestyle, a celebrity ought to take precedence because they interact with more people in more places and so they seem like the perfect profile of a spreader. But in reality there are so few of them that it would be better to just put them in with the rest of their age cohort and not jab them before essential workers and those in high risk groups.
They’re already managing the rush to make sure “that 1,000,000 people don’t show up on the same day” by giving out appointments ahead of time. Those appointments are supposed to only be available to people who meet certain criteria. There are not enough vaccine doses to go around. The negative in giving someone who doesn’t meet the criteria for the current phase is that someone who does meet the criteria, who by definition health authorities have determined is at significantly higher risk, doesn’t get the vaccine.
I’m a frontline healthcare worker. I handle COVID specimens, interact with with frontline personnel who are direct contact with COVID patients, and, most critically, have to go into the local hospital, doctors offices, long-term care facilities, and other medical facilities on a daily basis. I’m not just at elevated risk to contract COVID - it’s honestly not that much of a risk to me personally - I’m a HUGE risk as a COVID vector.
Even so, I had a hell of a time getting an appointment because the local distribution systems are overwhelmed. When the local health department and the local regional hospital announce appointments are available, you literally have about a minute to call before the lines are jammed, and about 10 minutes to get through before the appointments are all gone.
If some of that jamming is due to line jumpers, and some of those appointments that are supposed to be going to frontline healthcare workers and elderly, high-risk, individuals are instead going to line jumpers, on the theory that they’re “entitled” and “there’s little negative” to their line jumping, I’d be furious.
I’m not even sure the CDC recommendations and c the state rules that follow them have any legal effect. I don’t think Illinois passed any law to give them effect. I don’t remember any state agencies holding public hearings to create a rule on how to distribute. The system may fall apart if challenged in court.
It’s clearly not illegal for someone to receive the vaccine just because they’re not in one of the current priority groups. The question is, is it illegal to lie about which group you’re in when registering t receive the vaccine?
It’s illegal for me to put falsehoods on my resume/CV. I’m imagining that the same would be true for a resume/CV I gave to a health worker as would be for a resume/CV I gave to an employer.
What law are you breaking by lying on your resume? I’ve heard of people losing their jobs when a substantial lie was discovered, but I’ve never heard of anyone being prosecuted for that.
I’ve been following the thread hoping to find out it is actually illegal. It does sound like states could charge someone with some kind of fraud. Even if not convicted, even if the case never goes anywhere, it will be a big enough inconvenience for most people to face such charges. But I can see the difficulty in enforcing something like an invalidly checked check box. It would be impractical, and often unjust to prosecute people for such simple mistakes even if they are believed to be intentional.
I guess the problem is not so much people getting away with a minor fraud on a ‘technicality’ but that so many people are doing the opposite of what society needs in a situation like this. When the next 9/11 type event occurs will people even come together again, or are we forever divided now on every matter from petty to significant?
I doubt the legality is closely correlated with how many people lie. After all, none of us even knows for certain whether it’s illegal. Neither does anyone else.
Do you think there’s widespread lying? How much of that is people who have some other condition that didn’t technically qualify under their state’s list?
I know more people saying, “well, i qualify under the law, but I’m not sure this law makes sense, and other people need it more. Is it ethical for me to get vaccinated?” than I know people who have lied.
I suppose there’s reporting bias. People struggling with an ethical question are much more likely to tall about it than people who believe they are cheating.
Still, i don’t think line-cutting is a major problem. And the goal is to vaccinate everyone.
I don’t think it is either. I do think it could be a symptom of a bigger problem, possibly, I’m not convinced line jumping is happening that much. I am convinced the problem of political division in the country is bringing out the worst in people sometimes.
If you obtain something of value through dishonesty, that’s fraud, which isn’t the same as perjury. That said, I don’t think states are likely to prosecute anyone unless there’s some sort of widespread scheme that involves multiple people, payoffs, etc. Some random guy who desperately wants a vaccine and is willing to check a few boxes he shouldn’t have to get ahead in line…I doubt that guy goes to trial, especially when 1/3 of frontline workers and healthcare workers are refusing the vaccine.
It doesn’t actually have to be under oath - in NY the form with the check box says
I hereby certify under penalty of law that I am a member of a priority group eligible for vaccination.
That law is presumably not perjury , since there is no oath - but “offering a false instrument for filing” doesn’t involve taking an oath ( the form apparently ultimately goes to the Dept of Health)
Yes. The electronic version is on the DOH website, it’s on their letterhead and it says "The New York State Department of Health is requesting the information below in order to deliver the most effective Statewide vaccination program. By filling out this form, you are enhancing the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "
IANAL but wouldn’t there be some charge of misappropriation of government services or something like that? It would be the same as receiving any other government benefit based on false information.
If the counter-argument is that vaccination is not a government service because it’s paid for by insurance then it would be making a fraudulent insurance claim and theft of services.
Do I have to fill out that form at a private pharmacy’s website when signing up? If I go through the state or county, I get that I have to fill out a government form.