麻豆传媒

As COVID-19 continues to spread, and vaccine hesitancy persists, fake vaccination schemes are cropping up, including some perpetrated by healthcare professionals.

Police in Ancona, Italy, arrested a nurse who allegedly faked giving COVID-19 vaccines to at least 45 people so they could fraudulently obtain a health pass, the . The nurse went so far in perpetrating his scheme, police alleged, that he ditched vaccines in a bin and stuck bandages on his "patients."

Along with the nurse, police placed four alleged accomplices under house arrest, who are said to have sought out anti-vaccine customers willing to pay for a health pass instead of receiving their shots, AP reported. Additionally, 45 people who allegedly received a health pass as part of the scam are under investigation, and are required to check in daily with police and are prevented from leaving their respective cities, according to a police statement.

The scam allegedly took place in the vaccine hub of Ancona, on Italy's eastern coast, the AP reported. Police filmed the nurse squirting the contents of needles into medical waste bins and then pretending to inject people's arms.

Police said the nurse and his alleged accomplices are accused of corruption, falsifying information, and embezzlement, but also went a step further, adding that the scheme wasted a "fundamental public resource," AP noted.

Early in the pandemic, Italy became the epicenter of Europe's COVID-19 outbreak. After vaccines became available, a health pass proving vaccination or recent recovery from COVID-19 has been required for most activities there, including public transportation.

Just last week, amid the Omicron surge, Italy for all those age 50 and older, in a bid to ease the strain on healthcare facilities and reduce fatalities. The unique move follows vaccine mandates for all healthcare workers and teachers.

As of this week, Italy has vaccinated 86% of its population age 12 and older, and has administered boosters to about 60% of those eligible, AP reported.

When it comes to schemes that could derail that progress, giving fake shots is not unique to the nurse in Ancona, however.

For example, Italian dentist Guido Russo faces possible criminal fraud charges after he showed up at a vaccine hub in the northern city of Biella wearing an arm made out of silicon, .

Now, Russo has changed course, saying that he has since received a shot, and that the vaccine "is the best weapon we have against this terrible disease," AP noted.

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