By: Kyla Mitchell
Showing proof of vaccination cards are becoming more and more frequent, and essential. With that, fake vaccination cards are becoming something that people who are unvaccinated are using to pass the requirement that public places are starting to use. As CBS Sacramento states, “The unauthorized use of the CDC is a federal offense. So if you were to forge a blank CDC or HHS document with the logos, it could be punishable with a fine and up to five years in prison…”
Recently more than 40 COVID-19 vaccination cards were acquired in Chicago by officials at the O’Hare International Airport for the second time this month. As NBC states, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who were working at the International Mail Facility found fake COVID-19 vaccine cards that came from China in two packages. Both packages’ labels claimed that inside were greeting cards, but were in fact a total of 41 fake vaccination cards; 21 cards in one package and 20 in the other.
As stated from nbcchicago.com, Lafonda Sutton-Burke, who is the director of field operations for Chicago, says that “…sending these counterfeit cards are putting the American population in danger with every card they produce,” and that “Ordering and producing these cards is illegal and the only reason it is being done is to make a quick dollar, when getting the vaccination is free.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning the nation that buying, selling, and using false vaccination cards breaks the U.S. laws and puts people at risk.
USA Today declared that a man in New York was arrested after his employer reported him for using a forged COVID-19 vaccination card. If David R. Kemp is convicted of his charge of second degree possession of a forged instrument, then he can face up to seven years in prison. Another woman in Illinois was also caught with a plagiarized vaccination card just last month and spelled Moderna incorrectly. According to USA Today, a couple from Los Angeles were arrested last week due to faking a false negative test result in Hawaii. These cases all prove how the government is choosing to respond to the counterfeits, and how this fraud will not be allowed to continue.
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