People Paying For Individuals Experiencing Homelessness In Vancouver To Get Vaccinated For Them
According to a criminal attorney, those who used their identity to pay for vaccinations to vulnerable individuals on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside could face jail time.
Vancouver Coastal Health Confirmed vancouver is great Know on Friday (January 14) there have been instances of people vulnerable to DTES attempting to fraudulently obtain BC Vaccine cards by paying for vaccinations using their names and information falsely.
“This behavior is reprehensible and we are disappointed that anyone would take advantage of vulnerable people like this in an attempt to circumvent the process of obtaining a BC Vaccine Card,” VCH said in a statement.
Vancouver criminal attorney Kayla Lee told VIA that both parties involved in receiving fake vaccine cards could face charges.
“This is fraud,” she said, noting that the non-domesticated person “could face a serious charge,” although it would be unlikely “in the public interest” to pursue such charges.
However, Lee remarked, the amount of money someone paid to receive vaccinations, and in turn, proof of vaccination documents, “may be charged.”
Lee said she “won’t be surprised” if a person paying a vulnerable person receives a “short speedy prison sentence” given the exploitative aspect of the crime.
VCH has taken measures to “thwart these efforts” as well as ensure that any person seeking a COVID-19 vaccine is eligible and their identity is confirmed.
The health authority is also removing bogus vaccination records from the provincial immunization registry and canceling the BC vaccine cards associated with them.
In December 2021, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province was looking at suspicious vaccine records in the immune registry system.
