Wait...wut?!? CDC website offers blank vaccine cards for download, despite fraud worries

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.grid.news/story/science/2022/02/07/cdc-website-offers-blank-vaccine-cards-for-download-despite-fraud-worries/

Despite the United States’ widespread problems with falsified vaccination cards, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes a high-resolution, blank version of the card design available for download on its website.

It’s a head-scratching choice for the CDC. In early 2021, the agency said it had repeatedly warned state governments against doing the same thing — for fear it would aid fraudsters looking to replicate the flimsy paper credential.

“CDC has consistently advised states not to post the vaccine card template publicly,” CDC spokesperson Kate Grusich told NBC News last April.

Despite multiple inquiries to the agency about the site over the past two weeks, it has not responded with explanation or comment. As of Monday, the CDC’s website continues to offer a high-quality PDF copy of the document on its website — complete with a notice that the file is not copyrighted and is free for public use. The document has no watermark to deter people from simply printing it out and filling in false information.

A Grid investigation last month found the U.S. government’s reliance on the crude paper cards as official proof of Americans’ covid vaccination status has allowed a global marketplace of fraud to flourish. Thousands of online sellers offer fake vaccine credentials on major social media platforms, commonly using cryptocurrency and private online conversations to complete sales.

*snip*

[PoliticAverse]

1. That's been a badly kept "secret" for a while. The truth is...

very few places actually verify what's on the "card" they see and often they just see a copy on someone's phone.

The ease at which things can be faked in 2022 make vaccine "passports" rather a waste of time. More effective is a system that uses online databases, but for a price you can get those too...

Two New York nurses made $1.5M in fake vaccine card scheme, prosecutors say
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-new-york-nurses-made-15m-fake-vaccine-card-scheme-prosecutors-say-rcna14166

[durablend]

2. The CDC's further decline into irrelevance....

Does one hand not know what the other is doing over there?

Don't answer that.

[Scrivener7]

3. Oh my God. Is there no end to the stupidity of those people?

[orleans]

4. wow--is this what the cdc does when it just gives up? nt

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. This is a bad idea