A Belgian doctor is believed to have sold more than 2,000 fake coronavirus vaccination certificates, authorities said Tuesday.
Doctors in Belgium have access to a system called Vaccinnet, which allows them to issue the COVID Safe Ticket health pass to patients, proving that they have been vaccinated. The doctor in question, whose name and place of work have not been revealed while an investigation takes place, is accused of not following this procedure.
“We realized … that there were irregularities,” Christie Morreale, the Walloon health minister, told La Première, adding that the doctor issued fake COVID passes to “people from all over Wallonia” but did not pick up vaccine doses from pharmacies or vaccination centers.
Morreale described it as “an extremely dangerous act.”
“Astronomical numbers of vaccines were recorded by the same doctor for patients from all across Wallonia in record time,” Stéphanie Wilmet, a spokesperson for Morreale, told POLITICO. “That’s technically impossible.”
About a dozen medical practitioners are under investigation for similar acts, authorities told POLITICO. Patients who benefit from such fraud have had their fake vaccination certificates suspended, and the Walloon health agency (AVIQ) has filed a complaint both against the doctor and holders of the fake passes.
“Doctors must be aware that society has confidence in them. They have a very special profession in this respect. They must write medical certificates with objectivity and sincerity,” Benoît Dejemeppe, the Belgian medical association president, told RTBF.
“They put many people at risk,” Morreale said. “Thirty-three people die every day from COVID.”