"Paramedic of the Year" Arrested For Stealing Vaccine

Florida police say a paramedic in Polk County helped steal doses of COVID-19 vaccine meant for first responders a week before he was named "Paramedic of the Year." Joshua Colon of the Polk County Fire Rescue, was in charge of administering 30 doses of the Moderna vaccine to the county's firefighters on January 6, not long before local groups honored him for his response to a highway crash. He initially claimed three of the doses had to be discarded. However, it later was revealed that he falsified vaccine screening and consent forms to make it appear as though the doses had been used. He allegedly wrote down the name of a former firefighter and two fake names, one of which resembled the name of another ex-firefighter. When contacted, the men told officials they had yet to receive the vaccine. Authorities say three syringes had in fact been taken by one of Colon's supervisors, a fire captain. Colon says the captain, Anthony Damiano, asked for his subordinate's help in acquiring the vaccine for his mother and threatened to report Colon for stealing if he wasn't compliant. He too was arrested for his role.