A new crop of businesses has been born out of the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s not a surprise. We have already seen industrious entrepreneurs take up the challenge with mask-making, cleaning services, delivery driving and creating festive yard displays to take the place of birthday parties and other celebrations that weren’t safe during social distancing. So good for you, intrepid creator, right?
Well, maybe not this time.
Across the internet and social media stratosphere, opportunities have popped up to buy the newest COVID-19 must-have — a vaccine card.
OK, why buy the card? You get one for free when you get your shot — which is also free. So why pay $25 to $200 or more for one?
Because you’re willing to break the law by committing fraud, not to mention violating a social and moral compact. The fake cards are a way to obtain simple privileges of being vaccinated, like eating at restaurants or attending public indoor events, while evading basic responsibilities to public and personal health.
This was as predictable as sunrise. The genuine vaccination documents are on common card stock, printed in black and white. The verifying information is scrawled on hastily, often in the barely legible script associated with medical providers. They show the brand and lot number and date that doses were administered.
All of that makes them something that are easy to counterfeit for people who don’t want to get shots, especially as more and more places require them. And with college students headed back to class, many universities are asking for vaccines before people can show up on campus.
Who could have ever foreseen that college students would resort to fake IDs? Say it’s not so.
College students and people applying for jobs — the state of Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh, Highmark and Allegheny Health Network are just a few of those saying new hires must be vaccinated or masked and tested regularly — are unlikely to get away with forgeries, as the information is able to be verified.
But for casual use at public events, that could be different and more dangerous. Go to a well-attended sporting event where the capacity is allowed to be high because of a belief that people are vaccinated and you have pulled all the teeth from the cautious response.
It is also not something to be taken lightly. The U.S. Department of Justice has already announced its first fraud prosecution for a fake vaccine card operation.
Vaccination is the logical and responsible action that will help get Americans, individually and collectively, past the pandemic. There are people who do not agree with that. Disagreement may be their right, but taking chances with public health is not.
— The Tribune-Review, Greensburg/TNS
