Thread by @DrEricDing

VACCINE CARD FRAUD—it has begun. eBay lists an “Authentic CDC Vaccination Record Card” for $10.99, sold by a pharmacist in the Chicago area. It’s illegal, federal regulators say. But he has sold 100+ already, reports @ddiamond. #COVID19 #CovidVaccine
washingtonpost.com/health/2021/04…

2) the problems is that the card itself is genuine. That’s what makes this hard when people secretly resell these untracked blank vaccine cards. Without any public registry to verify, we won’t know. We need a registry!

3) “The listings are a “perfect example” of burgeoning scams involving coronavirus vaccination cards that could undermine people’s safety, as well as the success of the nation’s largest mass vaccination effort, said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.

4) “Individuals might use them to misrepresent their vaccination status at school, work or in various living and travel situations, potentially exposing others to risk.”

5) Stein, who led a recent effort with 47 colleagues demanding that eBay and other e-commerce platforms crack down on the scams, pointed to the FBI’s warning that anyone who makes or buys a fake vaccine card is breaking the law, and said he would consider prosecution, too.

6) “This is a concern that is national and bipartisan,” Stein added, saying the spread of fake vaccination cards “will extend the pandemic, resulting in more people sick and more people dead.”

7) At least 129.5 million Americans have gotten at least one or both doses of a coronavirus vaccine and have received a free proof-of-vaccination card with the logo of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as officials push to inoculate the nation.

8) But that vaccination drive has pitted people selling blank or fake credentials, against law enforcement officials rushing to stop them — and warning that the full scope of the problem is impossible to grasp.

9) Meanwhile here is the biggest irony... anti vax people want to have their freedom but fight so hard against their freedom from the pandemic.

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1383772726893039617

10) Yes some states let’s you look up your vaccination record online—if you got it at a state run location. But what if you got it at CVS or other pharmacy?

And can others look you up? (Eg dinner party cross verification to check if your vaccine card is real). Many questions.

11) Meanwhile, anti mask conservatives gathered for a “Health and Freedom Conference” at a megachurch in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The auditorium holds 7,000+.

“Broken arrow” is also a military term when a nuke is stolen, lost, or accidentally discharged.

12) are most Trump supporting conservatives anti vax and slower to vaccinate? Yes.

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1383408997672226823

13) just how vaccine hesitant are Trump conservative areas? Very.

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1383409372638769164

14) Also, why didn’t CDC create a digital vaccine card? @ddiamond report says the CDC ran out of time, supposedly. Let’s hope that is the complete story. We need a digital registry to help verify true vaccinations like e-verify for employment.

https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1383930250149568513

15) It’s laughable that the pharmacist acknowledges the eBay account is his. But that he didn’t do the sale. Ummmm okay.

https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1383885417854898179

16) according to reporter @ddiamond who interviewed the pharmacist who owns the eBay account that posted vaccination cards for sale.... the pharmacist says his account was hacked yet admits he also posted other listings concurrently during that time. Weird.

https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1384126616331161600