By MAST correspondents
In the ongoing global fight against COVID-19, vaccination is considered the most effective weapon. Yet, this investigation exposed individuals and groups taking advantage of the pandemic to make a quick buck by selling vaccination cards and certification to those who have not received jabs and or are unwilling to be jabbed.
COVID-19 vaccines intend to provide acquired immunity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome, corona virus which causes the corona virus disease, popularly known as COVID-19. Zambia, like any other country, implemented plans in May 2022 and embarked on country wide campaigns to have the eligible population immunized to attain the 70% target herd immunity. By November the same year – five months after the pronouncement, the target was reportedly achieved. Whether or not the 70% herd immunity comprises unvaccinated holders of vaccination cards/certificates, remains a mystery.
This investigation delves deep into the seedy underbelly of dodgy ‘dealings’, where vaccination cards/certificates have become a hot commodity. The story uncovers the corrupt players responsible for perpetuating this scam. Through undercover operations and research in some districts in Eastern and Lusaka Provinces of Zambia, TI-Z brings to light the devastating consequences of this despicable practice, which not only undermine public health efforts but also endanger the lives of millions of people in Zambia.
Vaccine hesitancy and mistrust is driving up the demand for vaccination cards and certificates…without the shots
The investigation begun in Chipata at a small urban clinic called Kapata. According to sources, vaccination cards, which serve as proof of vaccination are free nationwide, but here at Kapata clinic these cards are easily sold like hot scones!
“Do you want to buy only the vaccination card, or the certificate as well?” an impatient health worker asks over the phone.
According to one of the nurses encountered during the walk-in, the impatient health worker is the go-to person for the ‘private’ consultations. He has direct access to Zambia’s official vaccines data base, which produces a digital vaccination certificate.
“For both card and certificate, just do (pay) K400. If you want just a card, it’s K350. You can give me all [your] details today, I enter, and then tomorrow everything will be ready. You can also deposit even half of it, then tomorrow as you get everything that’s when you can finish (the payment),” he concludes.
After a few days, the investigative team in the guise of interested buyers meet the health worker in-person to finalize the conversation. When asked how many cards he sells in a month, he reminds us that the cards are free, until one is desperate enough to buy them without getting vaccinated. He almost seems ashamed after stating this, but quickly straightens up and justifies his actions by insisting that he only commits this illegality to ‘help’ others.
He dangles the vaccination card in his hand, waiting in anticipation for us to pay for it. The card is original, complete with a Chipata district health official stamp and Zambia’s coat of arms symbol, well registered with an identification number from the vaccination register. On paper, it is as if the actual jab was taken.
“We don’t sell, it’s free! It’s free if you are jabbed, not if you [are not], so if you have not been jabbed, [and] they ask you… don’t tell them you have not been jabbed just say I was jabbed and this is the card. This is not part of my business, I just do it for the sake of doing a favour. Otherwise we are not supposed to issue this to those not vaccinated. Us we don’t sell online unless someone is referred. A lot of people do call, especially those that we are together [with] in the Ministry of Health. They have their own people, even Indians,” the health worker explains to us.
The investigation moves to Chipangali, a district in Eastern province which was made independent from Chipata district in 2018 and shares a border with neighbouring Malawi. The team finds that the brisk business of vaccination certificates without jabs thrives here as well, more so because it is a border town. The investigation team meet a female health worker from Vizenge Rural Health Clinic along Lundazi Road, a clinic accredited as a vaccination centre. Asked about the possibility of obtaining fake vaccination cards. The female health worker refuses at first, saying it’s not possible to obtain them because ‘one needs to be entered in the system, and that takes a week’. However, as the health worker continues to speak, she identifies an opportunity and like clockwork, an offer is made!
“Maybe let me try to talk to Mr. X, but it’s not possible to get a card today. It will require something. You need to pay something if you need it to be done today. It will cost K200. You need to give something to get something,” she confidently says in a low toned voice.
Mr. X answers the call and agrees to ‘help’ in purchasing a vaccination card and ask for personal details which will be entered in the vaccination. All the while, the female health worker orders one of the clinic staff available to document the fake vaccination report in the clinical document and give her a vaccine bottle to get the vaccine code. The vaccination card is then filled in, and stamped with a government stamp even before payment is made.
Regarding the dose that was not administered, when asked the health worker responds: “We will know what to do. Don’t worry about that; you just be concerned with the card…,”
Still in Chipangali, the investigators also visited Kasenga Clinic where they ask an official standing outside the clinic, what it would take to purchase the vaccination cards.
“I can help you, but you just have to appreciate me. If you want [to appreciate me], I can expect anything, others even give live chickens.”
A ray of hope…
However, not every health worker falls prey to the temptation to ‘earn’ extra kwachas through selling vaccination cards. At Mshawa Rural Clinic, the team met a health worker who found it abominable to even consider giving vaccination cards, let alone selling them to unvaccinated individuals.
“I don’t do that, I am a genuine person. What I’m trying to say is I cannot get money [and] then I don’t give you the vaccine. Ok, why don’t you want to get the vaccine? I don’t like to compromise. Let’s just do the right thing…”
Purchasing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card is not only a criminal offense but also a grave public health threat. By falsifying vaccination status, individuals who use these fraudulent cards are putting themselves and others at risk of contracting and spreading the deadly virus. In the case of some highly contagious variants, such as Delta, this could mean a life-threatening illness or even death. Moreover, this deceitful act undermines the efforts of healthcare professionals and government officials who are working tirelessly to stop the spread of COVID-19 and get the pandemic under control.
Systemic Plot holes
On the streets of Chipangali, a resident says she has been vaccinated three times, yet, till date, she has not received any form of proof of vaccination. Baffled, the investigators ask her how that was possible.
“Yes, I was vaccinated three times but I was not given the card, the first Astrazeneca vaccine was in 2021 at Mercy Clinic, second was in December at Mkanda Clinic. A third Astrazeneca vaccine (not the booster) was given to me at Eastern Girls during the Census training exercise because they could not prove I was vaccinated before, because I didn’t have the card. Even though they told me they will give me a card, they have not given it to me. This time, I will not do it again,” – Resident vaccinated thrice.
Another resident interviewed says he has a vaccination card but is not vaccinated.
“I was given the card by my aunt. It was not my intention, I didn’t tell her, she suggested it herself. She told me that ‘since I’m doing this for other people I want to make a card for you as well in case of whatever comes’. That’s how I had to send details to her, and I went the other day to collect the card,”
Following these revelations, the investigative team seeks the audience of a Public Health Specialist from the provincial health office to ascertain whether the ministry is aware of this nefarious trade.
“They can happen, maybe at the time when people want to get tested or vaccinated, there are people who want to cut corners. But you see, most of these services we provide are free and for me I don’t see any reason why someone should pay a health worker to be able to get a service. What we do [as government] and what we have done in the past is to write to our staff to warn them to avoid corrupt practices and do things correctly…” Provincial Health Official
Meanwhile, in Lusaka, the city hums with a frenetic energy that is impossible to ignore. From the moment you step out onto the bustling streets, you are swept up in a sea of people, vehicles, and noise. The constant beeping of car horns and blaring of sirens near the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) mixes with the chatter of vendors selling street food along the road.
In a named section of the UTH, the investigative team asks the male attendant at the reception where they can get ‘express vaccination cards’ citing their need to travel soon. The person nods in clandestine understanding, directs the team to an air-conditioned room a few meters away, and asks them to wait for him. After a few moments the person returns and asks for the team’s details and clarifies that they (investigators) know ‘how these things work’. The individual prescribes an amount of K1,200.00 for the card, an amount thrice that of the same card in Chipata.
“All I need to do is just input your names and you’re good to go. Please also free to refer your friends or anyone you know. These processes are usually tedious, so we are here to help make them faster,” he assures, like the hero he believes he is.
Border-Line Insanity
Back in Eastern Province, the investigators meet other vaccination card vendors at Mchinji and Mwami, two towns on the border between Zambia and Malawi. Initially, the vendors seem guarded and hesitant to give out any information out of fear. After some probing, they reveal, – off record- an urban clinic they get their cards from. “It’s about who you know,” they say. According to the vendors, the vaccination card business is now booming, because more and more travelers need to prove they are vaccinated – without actually being vaccinated of course.
In a taxi, our team of investigators meet a couple who do frequent businesses at the border and ask them if they are vaccinated.
“We are not even vaccinated. Haaa, [The people at the border] they just want money. Whether you have it (the vaccination certificate) or not, they will try by all means to find an offence in you. Sometimes we pay free money twice. [They charge] four thousand Malawian Kwacha together. [Most recently] we also paid something in one of the Zambian offices but we were not availed with a receipt, every week we pay money. Ever week, I usually go and order items for sale [at the border],” the woman says.
The team of investigators arrive at the border at exactly 05:29am and meet with a Malawian health personnel in charge of verifying COVID-19 vaccination certificates for travelers using a border pass from Zambia to Malawi. He asks us if we have COVID-19 certificates, saying if we don’t, we must go back.
“If you don’t have it, you will have to pay two thousand Malawian kwacha each (equivalent to 30 Zambian Kwacha),” he says.
After this conversation, the investigators pay the said amount. However, one of them proceeds to the other side of the border for document clearance due to using a passport, as opposed to a border pass. Obligingly, our team member presents their passport to a Zambian female immigration officer seated at the Zambian immigration booth. She stamps the passport, returns it and asks our team member to go to booth number 10, which is for the immigration of Malawi. Upon arrival, a man at the booth asks our team member about their COVID-19 certificate. They respond saying it is in their phone. When asked to open it, network challenges arise and the certificate cannot be viewed.
“How come you can’t download it? Ok. Put something in the passport,” he demands.
“Like what?” The team member asks.
“A k2000 (Malawian Kwacha).”
Once that is done, the officer stamps the passport and returns it to our team member. Reunited, the team then proceed to the other side of Malawi. After hours in Malawi Kamwendo, to be specific, they travel back to Chipata through the border. This time they must pass through the health desk where they were initially asked to provide a COVID-19 vaccination certificate. One of investigators, (who had to buy the COVID vaccination certificate upon entry into Malawi earlier) and is not vaccinated, is asked to provide their newly acquired certificate. Once done, the investigators realize that all details are verified in the system proving that they appear vaccinated, when in fact not!
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This investigation exposes a thriving underground market for COVID-19 vaccination cards and certificates – a practice that puts the country’s population at great risk. The ease with which these cards and certificates can be obtained is alarming and calls for an urgent response from the Ministry of Health and the Zambian government. TI-Z recommends that the Ministry of Health sets up a task force to investigate and clamp down on the production and sale of these cards and certificates. Furthermore, the government needs to increase public awareness of the dangers of using vaccination cards and certification without being jabbed and provide clear guidelines and strict penalties for those caught engaging in this illegal trade. It is vital that the Ministry of Health and the government remain vigilant and take all necessary measures to prevent the spread this trade, which threatens to compromise the country’s progress in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.
A version of this story was published in the Mast Newspaper on Friday 24 March 2023
