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Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

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Re: Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

#21

I highly disagree with this. In fact, I think the best thing for the world is more fake ids. So we can search for true vectors of disease, such as MRNA gene therapies that are not fully tested. Passports are just a means to move to a social credit score. Which is horrifying in its implications.

Can't we both research vectors and have vaccine cards? And surely you're exaggerating by the use of the word "just". Maybe there is some circle I have not interacted with where a vaccine card is a weird social status thing, but they are also literally vaccine cards. Medical records conveying actionable information, in addition to whatever else, however inherently imperfect at that job.

Re: Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

#22
As long as there's some mechanism to identify the fraudulent cards people can be held accountable for trying to pass off a fake as the real thing. Making, selling, or using a fake vaccination card is a felony.

Can just anybody call up say, Walmart and verify if a vaccination card supposedly filled out by them is authentic? If not then that's the issue. Not the fact that fakes exist.

Re: Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

#24
This is a direct result of the (intentionally) punitive nature of vaccine mandates. Broad, heavy-handed actions by the government are the classic spark for societal backlash. A softer approach that focused on positive benefits for having a vax pass versus punishing unvaxxed would probably had better results. Instead, we've pushed (presumably) otherwise law-abiding citizens into using forged documents. This directly undermines the legitimacy of the government - people lose respect for an authority that cannnot enforce its own orders, and these people will be more likely to carry out similar acts of defiance in the future. Considering the political polarization in America, this is not a recipe for success.

Re: Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

#25
This will obviously happen when there is no enforcement against it. If the last two years showed us anything it’s that the federal and state governments are all talk when it comes to COVID and can’t be bothered to enforce any of their so-called mandates.

You know what would help fight these forgeries? Visible consequences for producing and possessing them.

Re: Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

#26
post #15
post #2

Is it really a public health nightmare? What data is there to show that vaccine passports are effective at reducing spread or hospitalizations?

Not just numbers, but numbers we can trust. I've been really impressed with how much data my province (Alberta) has made available, but now, I'm wondering. They recently had "technical difficulties", and the numbers changed from showing that double-vaxxed people were the most at-risk for omicron, to showing that unvaxxed people are. https://twitter.com/AB_CovidFacts/status/1486112498977685506 Also disturbing is that,…

No post body was provided.

Re: Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

#27
post #24

This is a direct result of the (intentionally) punitive nature of vaccine mandates. Broad, heavy-handed actions by the government are the classic spark for societal backlash. A softer approach that focused on positive benefits for having a vax pass versus punishing unvaxxed would probably had better results. Instead, we've pushed (presumably) otherwise law-abiding citizens into using forged documents. This directly u…

Some states tried using positive feedback in the form of lotteries, prizes, or even just paying people to get the vaccine. I don't think those measures were very successful.

Re: Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

#28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well depends what you call free. If we can end pandemic, we don't have to wear masks, no more boosters. That would be ideal freedom right? But not vaccinating, thinking one can outsmart public health officials, being intolerant is apparently not a freedom to me.

Quoted post unavailable.

This is a disgusting, ridiculous comparison.

Re: Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

#29
Does it feel like it was pretty deliberate that these vaccine cards were designed in such a way as to be relatively easy to fake - or at the very lease, not designed to be hard to copy. I'm always impressed when I go to Mexico about the quality of the immigration card with the embossed/hologram like headers, that you get. If vaccine cards had looked like that it would have reduced counterfeits significantly. I'm 100% in on vaccine mandates, and mask mandates, and (hyper-local) lockdowns when appropriate - but I'm also really glad the United States didn't go all big brother on Government Tracking/Documentation on this stuff.

Re: Fake vaccine cards are everywhere. It’s a public health nightmare

#30

This will obviously happen when there is no enforcement against it. If the last two years showed us anything it’s that the federal and state governments are all talk when it comes to COVID and can’t be bothered to enforce any of their so-called mandates. You know what would help fight these forgeries? Visible consequences for producing and possessing them.

How would you propose we start doing that?
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