The business of fake vaccination cards is expanding

As more businesses, universities, and federal and local governments seek evidence of coronavirus vaccination, the business of counterfeit vaccination cards is booming.


 In Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Customs authorities have seized five consignments of 1,683 counterfeit Corona vaccine cards and 2,034 counterfeiter Pfizer vaccine stickers since August 16. The forged documents were sent from China to homes and apartments in several US states.

 In August, a Chicago pharmacist was arrested on suspicion of selling fake Corona vaccine cards from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the eBay website. ۔

 Similarly, in July, a naturopathic doctor was arrested for selling fake vaccine cards.

 Legal experts compare a fake vaccine card to a fake money or a fake driving license.

 "It's a form of fraud," says Wesley Oliver, a law professor at Doxin University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Vaccines are actually given, and they are both different forms of the same crime. ”

 Authorities in California have seized a large number of fake vaccination cards. File photo

 President Joe Biden recently urged all businesses with 100 or more employees to ask their employees to complete a course of coronavirus vaccine or to obtain a negative corona negative test certificate once a week. Ask for

 A report by a global cybersecurity company says that since President Biden's announcement, the price of fake vaccine cards and the number of people selling them has increased.

 According to Christopher Robertson, a professor of law at Boston University, the practice is an excuse to endanger other people's rights and endanger them.

 Last month, 15 people in New York were charged with selling and buying fake Corona vaccine cards. One woman is accused of selling 250 fake vaccination certificates for about ً 200 per card. Another 27-year-old medical clinic worker was allegedly receiving 250 250 for entering fake vaccine data for at least 10 people in a New York immunization database. Several frontline healthcare and essential services workers have also been accused of buying and selling fake goods.

 People working in the health sector who have fake vaccination cards are a big risk to the patients they care for.

 Discarded Vaccine Cards in Seattle, Washington. File photo

 According to Oliver, when it comes to people accused of buying and selling fake vaccination certificates, judges look at who was harmed by the alleged crime. Cause danger

  "It's not something we usually see in criminal law," Oliver said. "The real damage you've done is a threat to the population."

 This could mean that healthcare workers, or those who work in nursing homes, could face harsher fines if they are involved in buying or selling counterfeit vaccine cards.

 "The more people you put at risk, the more the population is at risk. Clearly, you will be punished more severely," Oliver said.

 Robertson says the integrity of the entire vaccination card system is in jeopardy.