![]() However, the unsophisticated nature of the vaccination cards' design have made them easy to replicate, giving people a way to bypass the restrictions. In an effort to boost vaccinations, state, and local officials are implementing restrictions on unvaccinated people's lives, such as dining indoors and attending college classes in person. Millions of Americans have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and unvaccinated individuals are driving surges in hospitalizations. “Instead, they’re trying to use their positions to spread fear and help people circumvent getting the vaccine.A person who uses a COVID-19 vaccination card when they are not vaccinated can face some real consequences, including a five-year prison sentence. “They should be first in line advocating for people to get vaccinated,” she said of pharmacists. Sparks said her work had drawn detractors and vaccine opponents, who have threatened her and posted her home phone number and address online. The video drew the attention of the Illinois Pharmacists Association, which said it had reported the video to a state board for further investigation. “It made me so mad that a pharmacist was using her access and position this way,” Ms. The pharmacy technician had not disclosed her identity, but had linked the post to her social media accounts, where she used her real name. Sparks explained how she had tracked down the name of a pharmacy technician in Illinois who had nabbed several cards for herself and her husband and then posted about it online. To hold those people accountable, Savannah Sparks, a pharmacist in Biloxi, Miss., began posting videos on TikTok last month naming the sellers of falsified vaccine cards. Vaccine proponents say they have been troubled by the proliferation of forged and stolen cards. ![]() Authentic cards were also stolen by pharmacists from their workplaces and put up for sale, he said. Many people found the cards were easy to forge from samples available online. By January, sales of false vaccine cards started picking up, Mr. introduced the vaccination cards in December, describing them as the “simplest” way to keep track of Covid-19 shots. ![]() said it was “aware of cases of fraud regarding counterfeit Covid-19 vaccine cards.” It asked people not to share images of their personal information or vaccine cards on social media.įacebook, Twitter, eBay, Shopify and Etsy said that the sale of fake vaccine cards violated their rules and that they were removing posts that advertised the items. “This is a dangerous practice that undermines public health.” “We’re seeing a huge market for these false cards online,” said Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, whose office has investigated fraud related to the virus. The officials said they were monitoring the activity and were concerned that unvaccinated people would misuse the cards to attend large events, potentially spreading the virus and prolonging the pandemic. Last week, 45 state attorneys general banded together to call on Twitter, Shopify and eBay to stop the sale of false and stolen vaccine cards. ![]() Now online scammers have latched on to the latest profit-making initiative: the little white cards that provide proof of shots. The coronavirus has made opportunists out of many people, like those who hoarded bottles of hand sanitizer at the start of the pandemic or those who cheated recipients out of their stimulus checks. “We found hundreds of online stores selling the cards, potentially thousands were sold,” said Saoud Khalifah, the founder of Fakespot, which offers tools to detect fake listings and reviews online. Laminated ones cost extra.Īll were forgeries or falsified copies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards, which are given to people who have been inoculated against Covid-19 in the United States. Sellers listed them for $20 to $60 each, with a discount on bundles of three or more. Printed on card stock, they measured 3 by 4 inches and featured crisp black lettering. SAN FRANCISCO - On Etsy, eBay, Facebook and Twitter, little rectangular slips of paper started showing up for sale in late January. ![]()
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