Reminds me of a story that I believe I’ve read from reliable sources is true …
Back in the early days of Social Security, a leading company that made lots of the wallets and pocketbooks sold across the USA began including a cardboard facsimile Social Security card in each wallet shipped. Of course they all had the exact same made-up number printed on them.
Which didn’t cause problems until a few years later when lots more people began retiring and lots of folks contacted the Social Security Administration asking for their benefits under that number.
Some decent fraction of wallet buyers had simply assumed that was how SSA was handling the distribution of the then-newfangled numbers to all the citizens. And had been dutifully telling their employers the number, paying taxes on that number, etc.
Back in the non-automated 1930/40s the massive duplication never came to light during the pay-in phase.
When my son was in ~3rd grade, I was traveling for work. I stopped in a store in Memphis and saw fake driver’s licenses for sale. They were very fake, jokes, not meant to fool anyone. I bought a Curley (Three Stooges) license complete with Curley’s picture.
I gave the license to my son when I returned home. He loved it. It became his precious. But, he thought it was real. He was sure that he could use it to buy beer or drive a car. He convinced his friends this was true. He was careful to keep it hidden from his teachers.
But I know that New York has something called the “Excelsior Pass.” It’s a smartphone app. You can download both proof of vaccination and COVID test results, and display them when needed on your smartphone.
You’re getting the results from the state. The state has them because testing facilities and anyone giving vaccines reports that data to the state.
So that’s better than some piece of paper I could get anywhere. I mean, I’ve seen the form online. No need to even buy it – you’d just have to find the right paper. And, when I got vaccinated, I could have swiped a bunch of blanks right off the pharnacy counter with no trouble at all.
Yeah, I know. I’m jealous of my NYC family members – NY will be using that Excelsior pass as a vaccine passport of sorts. NJ has no plans to do the same.
I think it’s best to think of the card as a record of the information that proves you are vaccinated. Whoever gave the vaccination should have a record of it, as required by law and medical ethics. If you’ve been vaccinated, and you were to write down accurate information on a copy of such a card, I’m not sure there’d be anything wrong with that.
If you need real, solid, proof of vaccination, I think you’d need to get your vaccinator to verify from their records that they vaccinated you. Otherwise, it’s, as I say, more of a record of the information about your vaccination. It’s not meant to be proof, per se. Though some places may choose to accept it that way.
If there were going to be an app or other form of true verification, it ought to be verified with whatever entity vaccinated you, or your own primary care medical records, if it’s been made a part of that.
I think there’s a bit more to it than that. The official wallet card contains the CDC logo and the Dept of HHS logo on it, thus making it an official government document. So that’s more official than any hand-written receipt written on plain paper that you might scrawl up.
And it’s not a new law against falsifying or mis-using such a document. It’s a well-established law (I just read somewhere yesterday) that it’s a federal felony to falsify or mis-use any such federal document bearing the appropriate logo or identification of a government agency. So they didn’t have to make a new law just for this.
The fact this this card is just a piece of thin cardboard and trivial to counterfeit is a separate matter. It makes it easy, but still just as illegal if you get caught.
Go back to the doctor or clinic where you got the shots. They should be able to get you a new card with the correct information.
Be sure to verify the information that they have on record, and the information they reported to your state agency. If any of that is similarly wrong, you got some serious fixin to do. But if it’s just the card, that should be easy.
For California residents, go to: https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/
and sign up to get your official California vaccine certificate. You have to make up a 4-digit PIN code for yourself, which you need to write down and save, and follow the prompts.
You get an official certificate, with all some of the relevant information (it doesn’t show the Lot Number or even where I got the shot) but it includes a huge scannable QR code. You can download it to your smartphone, or you can print a paper copy.
You have to give your name EXACTLY as it appears in their record. My record seems to omit my middle initial (I had preferred to use my FULL name), so I had to try twice to get in.
My provider (that big HMO also known for manufacturing ships and cement) also provides their own certificate that I can get from their web site. It includes additional useful details, like the Lot number.
ETA: I’ve printed all of the above, in duplicate, and I stuck a copy of each in my car glove compartment so I’ll have it on-hand to proudly display whenever I get “carded” to get in anywhere.
I say they could make a case for fraud, even without any crime of counterfeiting official documents. If a place requires vaccination as a condition of using their services or buying their products, that forms a contract. If you misrepresent yourself, you would then procure benefits you were not legally entitled to, and the company would be out the service or product they did not contract to give.
But that’s a very generic looking charge, and probably not too seriously punishable – if indeed it is criminally punishable at all. If you made a fraudulent contract, that would be a civil matter between you and your counterparty.
Not so if you fake an official government doc. That’s a specifically illegal felony and, according to that article about the guys who faked their cards in Hawaii (I think that’s where I read this), can get you some significant free room and board.
My dad was saying he overheard someone talking about a vacation to Mexico they have coming up and how he just ordered (fake) vaccination cards for him and his wife. Who ever the guy was talking to suggested that he might want to rethink doing something that could land him in a Mexican jail.
It was from a now-closed, mass vax site run by the second most populous county (@5.2M) in the country. I sincerely doubt we’ll need these cards for anything at this point and I wouldn’t even know how to go about getting it fixed anyway. It has my last name and birthday right and the first name error is sort of funny. I guess it’s better this way.
In other news, the arrest of a licensed pharmacist was announced here in Chicagoland today. Imagine throwing away your entire career (plus any prison penalties or fines) for selling stolen cards on ebay (!) for $10/ea. https://to.wttw.com/3snG39h
I know. It’s like a cop failing an integrity test by taking $50 to not write a traffic ticket. $50 versus years of reasonably well-paid and secure employment, plus an excellent pension? Seems like an easy decision to me. But people get it wrong all the time.
That’s just beyond stupid. For a million reasons.
Also, the cards aren’t worth that much. Not even the ten bucks this clown was getting.
You can find really nice replicas of the cards online. For free. I’ve seen them, on Trumpist/anti-vaxx sites (no, I’m not going to post a link). With crop marks and everything. All you need is access to a color laser printer. You can find the card stock at Staples.
When I got my shot, at a local Walgreen’s/Duane Reade, there was a stack of cards on the pharmacy counter. I could have swiped a dozen or so, and nobody would have noticed.
Some day soon (preferably sooner rather than later) more and more places will be asking us to show our vax papers to get in. They may start demanding something a little more official-looking than those flimsy wallet cards. I think you ought to make sure your information on file with your state Department of Public Health is all correct.
I printed out two copies of my certificate from the similar California site – one to keep at home and one to keep in my car. It has some relevant information printed in plain text plus a huge scannable QR code. You may be able to download it to a mobile app too. That’s the real official record, and I think you would want to make sure they have it right there.
Yes you did, but it’s too late now. Now that he’s been re-inaugurated and will be President for Life (see here), he can NEVER be charged. This is getting a bit too political for the QZ forum, but you can read all about it in that P&E thread.
You’re right and I don’t know why I’m being so flippant. It’s not an important document now but might be soon, say as qualification for a booster. I should get it taken care asap.
