Police investigating theft of COVID-19 vaccination card

THE GUYANA POLICE ARE CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING THE THEFT OF A
COVID-19 VACCINATION CARD from a popular city hospital by a member of the country’s
security apparatus, a senior health official confirmed Monday.
“We have called in the police,” the official said responding to queries from this media house
about the incident.
The theft is the latest in a series of wrongdoings confronting the Health Ministry since the launch
of the vaccination programme to help protect the nation against the rampaging Corona virus
infection which has killed close to 560 Guyanese and 4.3 million persons globally.
Among the illegalities tied to the COVID-19 Vaccination Card is sale of the document. This is
currently a hot-button issue in Guyana since the outbreak of the deadly disease first spotted inn
Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019. The Guyanese government has since been on an aggressive
public health campaign to encourage its nationals in the 10 Administrative Regions to get
inoculated as a protective measure.
But there have been pushbacks by citizens influenced by social median propaganda, political
divisions and the so-called vaccine hesitancy. These have held back the country’s inoculation
drive and thrown into jeopardy many programmes anticipated to be rolled out by the
administration under its annual budget.
The Health Ministry has been hawkish with its covid vaccination cards since news surfaced
about the sale of the cards around the country as citizens try to circumvent getting the actual jab
as a defence against the highly contagious and deadly corona virus infection and its multiple
variants.
This has forced many to find novel ways to circumvent the ministry’s systems.

Several weeks ago, www.aroundtheregion.com reported on the sale of fake vaccination cards
allegedly by a Health Ministry staffer. After numerous efforts for an official response, its Public
Relations Officer (PRO) shed some much-needed light on the issue.
“A relative of mine who works at the ministry informed me that she made contacts for me to
secure one of the vaccine cards and I was told to visit the (name provided) health centre where I
got the card. I do not see my card as being fake as the card is the very cards that is being given to
those taking the vaccine. The only difference is that the information contained in the card (that I
received the vaccine) is false,” the beneficiary admitted.
Another admitted: “I have no intention to take the vaccine, and according to the government
laws, I need a vaccine card to enter certain places and even to work within the public sector so
the opportunity presented itself and I took it.”
A state employee blamed the government’s “lackadaisical approach” to the emerging crisis, even
as she admitted seizing the opportunity to secure the illegal document for an undisclosed sum.
“This entire ‘runnings’ is taking place right within the government as some of the people at
certain Ministries are securing the cards and selling them. When I was told about the card being
available for sale it was my relatives abroad who sent me the money to pay for it,” she
acknowledged.
When www.aroundtheregions.com first got wind of the ‘runnings’ the card was sold for $50,000.
The latest figures are set between $100,000 and $150,000 as demands for the vital document
soar.
A single mother of three made the financial sacrifice to get her card illegally.
“I got it so what I should do? I can’t go out and protest, but I will hit back in a hard way: they
want to see a vaccination card…well here is mine,” she said with a rueful smirk.
With stricter vaccination measures in place to enforce taking the jab, more Guyanese are opting
to buck the system, a beneficiary of the illegal scheme explained.

“This PPP government teaching we every-day to beat the system and we will certainly beat it…
with such a regulation in place,” the person said.
This media house understands that the widespread sale of the cards has now shifted from the
capital into urban satellites and as far as Upper Demerara/Berbice (Region Ten) in the bauxite-
mining capital, Linden.
A young government worker welcomed the opportunity of purchasing her card and does
experience a tinge of guilt that the information is misleading.
“I have my card stating that I have been fully vaccinated and the truth is that I haven’t
taken any of the vaccines. Some of my relatives have also secured the card.”