Saskatchewan doctor voices concern over vaccination fraud

Saskatoon family doctor Carla Holinaty believes more needs to be done to prevent vaccination fraud in Saskatchewan.

Holinaty told the Greg Morgan Morning Show she and other doctors have been hearing cases of people figuring out ways to provide a fake vaccination status or a fraudulent test result.

“Stacks of the vaccination pocket cards (are) being stolen and then forged and sold to people,” she said. “And (there are) instances where people who are licensed to provide private COVID testing, so for the negative test proof to attend an event, offering to forge those results for a fee for people who don’t actually want to be tested.”

Stories of vaccination fraud aren’t necessarily new in the province.

Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone and Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency president Marlo Pritchard confirmed in early November that they’re aware some people in the province have paid others to get vaccinated under the first person’s name.

Holinaty says she has spoken to Health Minister Paul Merriman about the claims she has been hearing.

“I think Minister Merriman was unhappy to hear about them; we are all unhappy to hear them,” she said. “I think people who may be aware of these things are probably rightly afraid of what might happen to them or afraid for their safety if it was to come out that it was them who reported these things.”

Holinaty says there has been a lot of aggression towards people who promote vaccination.

“Unfortunately it seems to be growing,” she said. “We’re seeing people like doctors and nurses get death threats. we’re seeing places like the Yorkton hospital be plastered with posters accusing health-care workers of war crimes.”