'We are following the tiers': San Benito Health Foundation responds to allegations Share Updated: 9:34 PM PST Jan 28, 2021 Share Updated: 9:34 PM PST Jan 28, 2021 State and county health departments are now investigating a San Benito county health clinic, on allegations it gave the COVID-19 vaccine to people not yet eligible to receive it. “There's already a big distrust in the whole system of the vaccine this doesn't help it,” said Melissa Gong of Hollister.The clinic at the center of the investigation is the San Benito Health foundation in Hollister. County leaders say it put some ahead of others waiting to get the vaccine.“Going outside the tiers is very dangerous because we are trying to get those folks that desperately need it… there’s a chance that a person out there could not receive the vaccine that they are entitled to right now,” said David Westrick, spokesperson for San Benito county.After receiving several complaints of alleged discrepancies the San Benito County public health department opened an investigation and notified the state department of public health.“We are following the tiers,” said Rosa Fernandez, CEO of the San Benito Health foundation.She added, “we want to make sure no one gets left behind.”Some of the complaints and criticism came from community members who were upset that rotary members from San Juan Bautista got the vaccine ahead of others.Fernandez says they got it because they're volunteers in local COVID food drives and she emphasized the state will find no wrong doing.“We need to be allowed the opportunity to save lives and the community should be focusing on that and seeing how quickly they can get the vaccine and make sure no one gets left behind,” Fernandez said.Fernandez said they have records of everyone they’ve vaccinated and so does the state.“We actually enter the information live while the client is here so we enter it into the state registry to our records and it’s transparent,” said Fernandez.But the investigation is another black eye in what has been less than a perfect rollout of the COVID vaccine all across the state.“That the California department of public health now has to investigate San Benito county and this county is having such a difficult time with getting COVID under control, that one more issue in the COVID battle is not what we needed,” said Gong.The health clinic which serves many in the Latino community including the uninsured and farmworkers gets its vaccine from the county.Thursday public health officer David Ghilarducci said it would withhold next week’s distribution of the vaccine to the clinic, roughly 100 doses, while the investigation plays out