Tennessee seizes thousands of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards shipped from China

More than 3,000 fake COVID-19 vaccination cards from China have been seized in Memphis, Tennessee, en route to other cities in the United States.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted a shipment from Shenzhen, China to New Orleans, Louisiana that contained 51 blank counterfeit vaccination cards, CBP said in a report. press release August 13. ,” they said.

The FBI warned on March 30 that buying, selling or using fake COVID-19 vaccination cards is a felony and that violators face a fine and up to five years in prison.

White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients also warned on August 13 that it is “a crime” to tamper with COVID-19 vaccination cards, amid new restrictions imposed by several major cities.

After New York City announced it would make vaccine passports mandatory at some businesses starting next month and a growing number of colleges and universities across the country are requiring vaccination for students to attend in face-to-face classes there has been an increase in fake immunization cards.

Fake Cards

“This fiscal year to date, Memphis has made 121 seizures totaling 3,017 of these vaccination cards,” CBP said in the press release. “They always come from China. “

From the outside, the mailings were all described as “Paper Greeting Cards / Use Greeting Card” or “PAPER CARD PAPER”.

“The cards have blanks for the recipient’s name and date of birth, vaccine manufacturer, lot number, date and location of injection, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) logo in the top right corner, ”explained CBP.

But CBP agents knew the cards were fake because “they had been imported by a non-CDC or medical entity, and this was not the first time they had seen this sender.”

At the same time, these counterfeit cards have typos, unfinished words, and some of the Spanish verbiage on the back has been misspelled.

“If you don’t want to receive a vaccine, it’s your decision. But don’t order a counterfeit, waste my officer’s time, break the law and present yourself in a false light, ”said Michael Neipert, regional manager of the Port of Memphis.

Active black market

City and university policies have resulted in an active black market in immunization cards. On Instagram, Telegram, Reddit, Twitter, and similar social media platforms, users can get contact details for vendors of vaccination cards, which sell them for between $ 25 and $ 200 each. These cards may not be genuine.

According to a tally from The Chronicle of Higher Education, at least 675 colleges and universities require proof of COVID-19 inoculation in the United States. The process of confirming immunization at many schools can be as simple as uploading a photo of the immunization card to the student portal, The Associated Press reported on August 9.

COVID-19 vaccines are available in the United States, but some people are reluctant to vaccinate for personal or religious reasons.

Some social media users are sharing the cases of deaths and side effects from the vaccine, while others are concerned that the vaccination may not protect people from infection with COVID-19.

According to USA Facts, 60% of Americans had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of August 13, while 51% of the population had been fully vaccinated.

From the time of time