An Italian dentist may soon face criminal charges after he allegedly attempted to trick nurses into administering a COVID vaccine into a fake silicone arm in order to obtain a “super” health pass, which will soon be required to enter most public venues (including restaurants) in Italy.
According to NBC News, the incident occurred in the northern Italian city of Biella, when an as-yet-unidentified man presented himself to nurse Filippa Bua, ostensibly to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. However, Bua told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that she immediately realized that something was wrong because, “I felt skin that was cold and gummy, and the color was too light.” Bua said she initially thought that the man was an amputee and had mistakenly offered the wrong arm, but then lifted up his shirt and realized that he was attempting to pull a fast one.
“I understood immediately that the man was trying to avoid the vaccination by using a silicone prosthetic, into which he hoped that I would inject the drug, unaware,” Bua said. Bua claimed she confronted the man, who admitted that he had been trying to obtain the “super” pass fraudulently, and further indicated that he had already been fired from his job because of his refusal to receive the vaccine. The man was apparently “courteous” and left after the confrontation.
According to Bloomberg, after the man left, the nurses “reflected, and we understood that this wasn’t just a surreal situation, but a real attempt at fraud.” Accordingly, the vaccination site turned over the man’s information to prosecutors. It was not immediately clear what charges the man might face under Italian law.
About 85% of Italy’s over-12 population is fully vaccinated, according to Bloomberg.