A German man is suspected of getting more than 87 COVID-19 shots so he could sell fake vaccination certificates
Matthias Bein/dpa/Getty Images
- A man is suspected of receiving more than 87 COVID-19 shots, German media have reported.
- This reportedly gave him real vaccine batch numbers that he could put on fake certificates.
- Criminal investigations are ongoing in the east German state of Saxony, per German media reports.
A man is accused of receiving at least 87 COVID-19 vaccine doses in order to use the real batch numbers on fake certificates he could sell to anti-vaxxers, German media have reported.
By taking the shots, the man in his sixties got real vaccine batch numbers that could be put on fake vaccine certificates, per the reports.
According to Freie Presse, the man went to vaccine centers in eastern Germany and was vaccinated up to three times a day, receiving 87 vaccines in the state of Saxony alone.
The man, whom the paper did not name for privacy reasons, is now under investigation for "issuing vaccination cards without authorization and document forgery" but not detained, the AP reported.
According to the reports, each time the man entered a vaccination site, he would bring a blank vaccination card. After getting a shot, he would remove the page with the batch number and sell it to people who didn't want a vaccine themselves, per DW.
About 75% of Germans are fully vaccinated and 58% have had a booster, according to Oxford University's Our World in Data. But, some states have struggled to get shots in arms. In Saxony, 64.5% are fully vaccinated, data from Statistica shows.
Those who remain unvaccinated, in some cases, have turned to fake COVID-19 passports, with which they can access restaurants and workplaces more easily, the AP reported. Saxony has now lifted most restrictions, with the exception of some mask-wearing rules.
The suspect was caught after he attended a vaccine center run by the German Red Cross in the Eilenburg, a town in the north of Saxony, for a second day in a row, German news agency dpa reported.
Police confiscated several blank vaccination cards from him and initiated criminal proceedings, according to dpa's report.
A spokesperson for the German Red Cross told DW that prior to his capture a staff member at a vaccine center in Saxon's capital city, Dresden, had recognized the man and become suspicious.
The man used his real name and birthdate for the multiple vaccine appointments, but didn't present his health insurance card, per DW. There's no central database for logging vaccines in the country.
The total number of jabs he received is expected to be higher than 87.
It's not immediately clear if the vaccines, from multiple brands, have impacted his own health, per dpa.
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