In Pakistan, it turns out that many falsify certificates for the corona vaccine, so the government intervenes. Saqib Baig from the Ministry of Health in Pakistan also got a special job to catch people who tried to trick people with fake COVID-19 vaccine certificates.
In particular, Baig looks for people who come to the center, register themselves at the counter to get a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, but then leave without actually being vaccinated.
These individuals can later enter their personal details on the National Immunization Management System's (NIMS) online portal and obtain a vaccination certificate, which can then be used for various activities that require a COVID-19 vaccine certificate.
"Just yesterday, I arrested about 70-80 people who tried to leave the center without receiving a dose," Baig told Geo.tv as seen Monday (11/10/2021).
"They came up with the funniest excuses too, 'Oh, I have a rare health condition, so I can't get the vaccine,'" he added, laughing sadly.
People tried to avoid Baig and his associates by pretending to go out to take phone calls, or hiding in the restroom and trying to sneak out. That's according to the story of Touqeer Anwar who became the supervisor.
"Once we catch them, we try to negotiate with these people and convince them to get a vaccine shot. If they don't agree, we have to call the police," said Anwar.
In order to stop people who are helping to produce COVID-19 vaccine certificates without actually being injected, the government has launched three steps.
First, they've put guards, like Baig, at the center of the vaccine to keep an eye on people passing through the system.
Second, they have launched a two-factor authentication system for people logging into the national vaccine database. This means that when a data carrier or healthcare worker logs into the system, they receive an authentication code on their phone which they must verify before they can proceed. This ensures that the person logging into the system is actually that person.
This is meant to stop healthcare workers from giving out their login details to outsiders, as two-factor authentication will directly engage them if fraudulent activity is detected from their accounts.
Third, officials are also conducting ongoing audits to match the details of each person who has received the vaccine with the unique identification number listed on the vial of the vaccine from which it was administered.
"Each vaccine has a unique number or ID. We can now track which people got the vaccine and where, or if they didn't actually get the vaccine at all," said Sikander, Secretary of Punjab's Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department.
After looking at the three major waves, Pakistan has recorded nearly 1.26 million cases of the deadly virus, while more than 28,000 people have died as of October 9. As of September 29, Pakistan has only immunized 12% of its total population.
