are requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for students to attend in-person classes. But the mandate has opened the door for those opposed to getting the vaccine to cheat the system, according to interviews with students, education and law enforcement officials.
A Reddit user commented on a thread about falsifying COVID-19 vaccination cards, saying, in part, “I need one, too, for college. I refuse to be a guinea pig.”Instead of a back-to-normal back-to-school, the coronavirus casts new shadows over the return to full-time, in-person schooling. The University of Michigan says it has checks in place to confirm employee and student vaccinations. A spokesman for the college told the Associated Press the school has not encountered any problems so far with students forging COVID-19 vaccination record cards.
“This is why I think the development of a reliable national digital vaccine passport app is very important for the sake of all the organizations and businesses that want to require proof of vaccination for employees, students or business patrons,” Williams said. Many of the sites have blacklisted keywords related to fake cards, but places to buy the documents are still popping up on messaging apps, chat forums and the dark web.Sellers on websites such as Counterfeit Center, Jimmy Black Market and Buy Express Documents list COVID-19 vaccine cards, certificates and passports for sale, some costing 400 euros or about $473.49 U.S. dollars.