Photo Credit: Ericha Fitzgerald
The Omicron variant of COVID recently caused a daily infection record in New York City and a weekly high for flight cancellations across the country. In North Carolina for instance, they’re running out of COVID tests. And various vaccination card mandates have caused demand for fake vaxx cards to skyrocket. According to reports, they’re now going for $250 which is about $50 higher than what they were in September.
Now in case you’re considering getting one yourself, a month ago NFL player Antonio Brown was suspended for evidence of him purchasing one through text messages. The Governor of New York has signed a bill making the act criminal. The Baltimore branch of Homeland Security Investigations is a part of a national effort to make these cards illegal. A 23 year old man named Amar Shabazz was recently arrested after getting the attention of HSI-Baltimore, FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection when he purchased 600 fake vaccine cards online to distribute recently.
According to Assistant Special Agent in Charge Freddie Taylor, most of these fake COVID merchandise is coming from Chinese websites. He also told Fox News that they’re currently pursuing 10 or 15 cases. Deputy Special Agent in Charge Selwyn Smith said the issue is a “public safety issue when you’re ordering thousands of cards and charging a profit for it and handing out to the public.”
