FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- After Local 10 interviewed snowbirds from Canada who showed up at a Fort Lauderdale clinic last week for their free H1N1 vaccines, U.S. Rep. Ron Klein said the U.S. government should not be paying the bill.
On Monday, much like last Wednesday, Canadian citizens by the carload headed to the National Guard Armory in Fort Lauderdale for their free H1N1 vaccines, paid for by the U.S. government, Local 10's Jeff Weinsier reported.
The Broward County Health Department, which is administering the vaccines at the facility, is only asking patients to provide a Florida address -- no proof of U.S. citizenship required.
"Does it bother you as a congressman that we are paying for their shots?" Weinsier asked.
"Absolutely. We shouldn’t be paying for their shot and to the extent someone made that decision, they made the wrong decision and they should be responsible," Klein said.
Klein said the federal government is paying for the vaccine, but state and local health departments are administering it. The U.S. government has spent close to $2 billion in tax dollars to purchase about 250 million doses of the vaccine.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, providers may charge for administering the shot, and many places, such as Walgreens, do.
But health departments in South Florida are not charging.
"Now that we are aware of it, I will call the head of the county health department this afternoon to make sure that is not happening. If that is a decision someone made, it's the wrong decision and they should be responsible," Klein said.
Every Canadian citizen who spoke to Local 10 said he or she was willing to pay for the vaccine.
"I'd be willing to pay for it if I had to," said one Canadian citizen.
"Canadian citizens here are taxpayers, if not more than many Americans, so we should be entitled to some of the community services to protect the community," said another Canadian citizen.
Representatives of the Broward and Miami-Dade health departments said they follow the guidelines set by the Florida Department of Health.
Officials at the Florida Department of Health said they were unaware of any non-citizens receiving the swine flu vaccine.
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