These incidents are not only endangering the health of other citizens but also create difficulties for Pakistanis traveling abroad due to dubious certificates issued in the country.
For the past several weeks, fake Coronavirus vaccination certificates have been offered through WhatsApp and social media for money. Reports suggest that citizens are registered, but they get a certificate without being vaccinated.
In this regard, several cases have been registered in Karachi, Quetta and Lahore and arrests have been made and in Islamabad. Also, it has come to light that at least two cases exist where the hospital staff did not vaccinate citizens, but their data was entered in the system of NADRA for the vaccination certificate. In these cases, the citizens insisted that they did not want to be vaccinated, so as to “avoid the side effects of the vaccine,” but a certificate is required to avoid air travel restrictions and mobile SIM blocking.
Complaints of fake Corona vaccine certificates have been reported from several countries including Bangladesh and Russia.
A spokesman at the Federal Ministry of Health Sajid Shah said that so far, the ministry has not received any complaint from Islamabad in which a fake entry has been made in the system of NADRA without vaccination. He added that in order to be vaccinated, the citizens have to first register on the number 1166, from where they get a code, and then they go to separate centres for the two doses where they are entered and verified. After this, the vaccine is administered.
When he was informed of allegations that from merely entering the citizen's ID card number and other data in the system, a citizen could get the vaccine certificate from the NADRA system without actually vaccinating themselves, the spokesman of the Ministry of Health said, “The system is quite foolproof. This is very difficult to do.” He insisted that while fake certificate messages do appear on social media, they cannot put any impact the system.
A Reddit user commented on a thread about false COVID-19 vaccination cards, saying, in part, “I need one, too, for college". Another social media user with more than 70,000 followers stated, “My daughter bought 2 fake ID’s online for $50 while in college. Shipped from China. Anyone have the link for vaccine cards?”
Dr. Sarmad Khan of the Corona Cell Balochistan said that that complaints of issuing fake certificates without vaccinating have been received in Balochistan, which has been taken seriously by the Health Department. He said that cameras have been installed in vaccination centers and certificate-issuing offices to make the certification process transparent and better monitored. “People in Balochistan have also complained about the untimely issuance of certificates and incorrect entry of vaccine names in the certificates, despite having been administered both doses of the vaccine.” He said that steps are being taken to address the grievances.
However, the Balochistan Health Department stopped the vaccination process at the Civil Hospital Quetta after detecting irregularities in the registration process. Moreover, the Balochistan Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department ordered the Civil Hospital Quetta medical superintendent to suspend the vaccination process with immediate effect. A Health Department official said that the vaccination centre was sealed on the basis of complaints from members of the public. An official said that the staff of the center was found making fake entries. After this incident, it has been decided that the registration of future vaccinators will be computerised – which will be directly linked to NADRA like the rest of the country.
Given all these developments, the closure of an important vaccination centre increased the hardships of the local residents. They complained that staff at the hospital was not cooperating in uploading their record, so they could not obtain the NADRA vaccination certificate which has been declared necessary. Health officials said that an investigation will be launched into the fake registrations. They further said that the vaccination process was to be resumed within a couple of days at the hospital.
Reports from members of the public suggest that some staff deployed at the vaccination centres have turned it into a good opportunity to make money by helping people in obtaining vaccination certificates without actually being vaccinated. There are even reports that bogus NADRA certificates are being prepared across the country for a few hundred rupees, and it has become a profitable business. Increasing number of inquiries to these sites and similar ones appear to be from those who are trying to get fake vaccination cards for college.
A Reddit user commented on a thread about false COVID-19 vaccination cards, saying, in part, “I need one, too, for college". Another social media user with more than 70,000 followers stated, “My daughter bought 2 fake ID’s online for $50 while in college. Shipped from China. Anyone have the link for vaccine cards?”
The Pak Corona Vaccination App has been launched, which will help identify fake vaccination certificates and facilitate vaccination of people. According to data from the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 4,343 people contracted the virus and 73 breathed their last in the last 24 hours in country. During the NCOC meeting, the global situation of the Coronavirus pandemic was analysed on the basis of an increase in the daily count of cases, pace of virus transmission and low vaccination rates in different countries.
After surviving three successive waves of the novel coronavirus, the fourth spell, driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant, has left the government scrambling to maintain stricter viral protocols. This includes an emergency escalation of the nationwide inoculation campaign, where immediate vaccination has been made mandatory for all public and private sector employees, in addition to those wanting to travel.
However, the exigencies of immunisation appear to have opened a new can of worms, as reports of fake vaccination certificates begin to surface across the country. Experts fear that if left unattended, this could be the hole that ultimately sinks the ship of Pakistan’s fight against Covid-19.
In view of such reports, authorities have taken action against more than four health department employees in Lahore and Shahdara, while also cancelling certificates found to be illegally issued. Although investigations are still underway, sources claim that those apprehended in Lahore may face legal charges under the Punjab Employee Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEDA) Act.
Explaining the way that fake vaccination works, a source privy to the matter said that dubious vaccinators have citizens fill a standard form that one would fill at any actual vaccination centre.
According to whistleblowers on Twitter, immunisation certificates can be forged for anywhere between Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 at major government hospitals, depending on the value of the vaccine. “Without any dose. Corona vaccination registration available verified by 1166,” advertised once such service in a screenshot circulating on the internet.