The paper vaccination records of more than 100 people were stolen after a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.
The documents are not vaccine cards but internal records confirming the person received the first dose of the vaccine.
Efforts are underway to notify people who attended the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Fort Stanton Recreation Center on Erie Street SE on Sept. 2, 4 or 7 before their next dose is due.
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Safeway Pharmacies conducted the clinic in a collaboration between federal and state governments and pharmacies across the U.S.
A spokesperson for Safeway’s parent company, Albertsons, confirmed an employee who facilitated the Fort Stanton clinic had their car broken into outside their home Sept. 8. A work bag or backpack was taken that held, among other things, the paper records of 138 people who received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the Fort Stanton clinic. The documents serve as a reference when the person returns for their second dose.
“Safeway Pharmacies make every effort to handle patient records with the utmost care and privacy, and we deeply regret this situation,” the director of operations for Safeway Pharmacies Eastern Division said in a statement. “We notified the impacted patients we could identify, and we are taking measures to avoid a future occurrence, including improving training to reinforce controls and policies related to paper forms.”
Safeway said it sent a letter Sept. 16 to all people it could identify as potentially being impacted. Safeway said it believes it contacted most of the people affected.
The spokesperson for Albertsons said there are currently no indications any of the stolen information has been misused. The company said it is working with local law enforcement and conducting an internal investigation.
Safeway continues to ask that anyone who attended the clinic at the Fort Stanton Rec Center Sept. 2, 4 or 7 to call (202) 941-6412 to help verify that electronic records accurately reflect their COVID-19 vaccination status.
