In some Telegram chats, illegal services are sold and, as it turns out, among them is the preparation of completely official certificates of completed vaccination. AiF.ru figured out how such a document differs from a fake one and what threatens the providers of illegal services and their clients.
Who does not need a second dose of the coronavirus vaccine? More details
What are these “real” but illegal certificates?
If an ordinary fake does not pass the test on the Unified Portal of State Services and Functions (EPGU), then these certificates are of a different level - they are prepared by the doctors themselves and they enter information about the supposedly administered vaccination in a special state register (i.e., such documents pass verification).
A correspondent for the Baza Telegram channel found out how the service is organized by giving himself a “virtual” vaccination. It costs from 10 to 20 thousand rubles. The entire registration process is identical to the official one, with the exception of the injection itself - the ampoule with the vaccine is simply thrown away. To receive a certificate, the client must provide passport data and SNILS number, and also have a confirmed account on State Services, in which an “observation diary” will be created.
Is it possible to get coronavirus after vaccination? More details
What is an immunization record?
Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing many infectious diseases, accepted throughout the world. Some vaccinations are considered mandatory, others are recommended. No one has the right to force them to do it, but an unvaccinated person may have problems getting a job at school or work, while traveling, or if they intend to undergo treatment in a sanatorium.
In the Russian Federation, vaccination against viral hepatitis B, influenza, diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, rubella, pneumococcal infection, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis, and mumps is mandatory. According to epidemic indications, vaccinations are given against rabies, brucellosis, typhoid fever, chickenpox, viral hepatitis A, Haemophilus influenzae infection, yellow fever, tick-borne viral encephalitis, leptospirosis, Q fever, meningococcal infection, rotavirus infection, anthrax, tularemia, cholera, plague, shigellosis.
The introduction of vaccines against dangerous diseases is carried out in several stages. In the first year, the child receives basic vaccinations that form the foundation of immunity - against hepatitis B, tuberculosis, pneumococcal infection, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, spinal paralysis, measles, rubella, mumps. Then, according to the schedule, repeated injections are performed to form a primary immune response and revaccination. All vaccine activities must be documented - indicating the name of the vaccine and the date of administration of the drug. This information is recorded in documents:
- history of the child’s development (registration form 112/у);
- child’s medical card (registration form 025/у);
- certificate (registration form 156/у-93);
- preventive vaccination card (registration form 063/у);
- log of preventive vaccinations (registration form 064/у).
Vaccination certificate - a certificate with detailed information about vaccinations: which and when the child was given. In essence, this is an extract from the vaccination card, provided at the place of request.
The document looks like this: at the top left is the inscription “Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation”, in the right corner is the OKUD and OKPO code of the medical authority that issued the certificate. In the central part is the title of the document. Next, it is indicated for which institution the certificate is issued, as well as the date. Below, the patient’s personal data is entered, and there is a table listing all vaccinations, dosages, dates, series of vaccines, as well as a description of reactions to the administration of drugs.
What motivates citizens to seek such a service?
In Russia, the pace of vaccination is quite low. According to data from open sources, the share of vaccinated people in the country does not exceed 10%. Moreover, in many countries this figure has already exceeded 20–30%.
For this reason, some regions of Russia are considering the possibility of introducing mandatory vaccination. This prospect frightens distrustful citizens; some do not want to get vaccinated. In addition, to speed up the pace of vaccination and motivate Russians, the authorities organized sweepstakes with substantial prizes. For example, in Moscow, a car will be raffled off among vaccinated people.
Drawing of a car for vaccination: how to participate and where to view the results Read more
All this pushes those who are absolutely not ready to get vaccinated to look for alternative ways and buy fictitious certificates.
Kommersant learned about difficulties with renewing vaccination certificates in Moscow
Residents of Moscow were unable to quickly obtain an extension of digital vaccination certificates after an additional vaccination against COVID-19. Without renewal of certificates, Muscovites cannot count on bonuses from employers and trips to countries where they require certificates that are no more than six months old, writes Kommersant, citing an employee of one of the capital’s IT companies and complaints on Internet forums.
According to the newspaper’s interlocutor, the validity period of the certificate was not renewed after revaccination, but her colleagues who received an additional vaccination in St. Petersburg had their certificate renewed without problems. The technical support of the Unified Medical Information System (UMIAS) responded to the newspaper’s interlocutor’s message about the problem that “at the moment, during revaccination, the validity of the vaccinated person’s certificate is not extended.”
“It is possible that the conditions for renewing certificates will be revised in the near future,” says the response received. The vaccination certificate was renewed only after three weeks and numerous requests for support, the woman said. Complaints that the certificates are not supplemented with data on revaccination have also been published on several Internet forums, the publication notes.
Advertising on Forbes
Material on the topic
Mass vaccination against coronavirus began in Moscow in December 2020. Citizens began receiving electronic vaccination certificates with a QR code, which are valid for a year, in January 2021. The certificate can be downloaded in your personal account on the government services portal. It states that “information for issuing a certificate may come from medical organizations with delays or errors—up to 20% of users encounter problems,” the newspaper notes.
The Moscow Department of Information Technologies (DIT) reported that the QR code of vaccinated citizens is valid for a year, and even the first vaccinated may not have any difficulties using it. “The information systems of the Moscow government provide for the possibility of extending the QR code after revaccination if such a decision is made. It will be adopted later and does not fall within the competence of the Moscow DIT,” the department responded to the newspaper’s request.
Material on the topic
Many companies motivate employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by offering additional vacation days, prizes or cash bonuses. However, some companies require that the vaccination be done no more than six months ago and confirmed with a digital certificate. In addition, in some companies, employees returning from vacation are sent to quarantine - for five days if they have a vaccination certificate, and for 14 if they do not.
Certificates no older than six months are also required to enter a number of countries. Thus, a certificate with such a deadline is required to enter Estonia. To enter Croatia, a vaccination certificate is required, according to which the vaccination was given no later than 270 days ago. This was reported on the website of the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Material on the topic
The problem with updating the certificate date may lie in the compatibility of the information systems that are used in the process, suggested Vladimir Ulyanov, head of the Zecurion analytical center. In a short time, a large infrastructure was developed that should ensure data exchange with a large number of medical institutions, high data transfer speed and its security, he explained. The expert added that QR codes differ depending on the region. In some of them, data exchange may be difficult, which is natural with the accelerated development of such systems, but in others it can occur without problems.
The situation is explained solely by the issue of information exchange between clinics, vaccination points, the data processing operator and the government services portal, confirmed information security specialist Alexey Drozd. In the regions, in his opinion, the situation is different, because there are fewer people and clinics. Probably, according to the expert, Moscow is simply “temporarily unable to cope with the volume of information.”
What punishment can follow for issuing an illegal certificate?
Despite the fact that the document is prepared by doctors according to all the rules, this is a serious offense - both on the part of the contractor and on the part of the customer, Andrey Karpenko, a lawyer at the Center for Medical Law , As in the case of a regular fake certificate, here we are talking about a forgery of the document, because in the end the vaccination is not given.
“There is intent on both sides, both the doctor and the patient, who understands perfectly well that he will not receive the vaccine, but will be given a certificate. Here you can select three or four offenses,” the expert noted.
Under Article 327 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Forgery, production or circulation of counterfeit documents, state awards, stamps, seals or forms,” the perpetrators can be imprisoned or assigned forced labor for up to two years.
Can Russians get a COVID certificate to travel to Europe? More details
Customers for using counterfeits can be fined up to 80 thousand rubles or the amount of their income for six months, as well as arrested for up to six months or assigned to compulsory labor (up to 480 hours) or correctional labor (up to two years).
In addition, the owners of such fictitious documents endanger the lives of many people, explains Karpenko. They still remain a potential source of infection, although according to the certificate they should not. The creation and possession of a certificate falls under Article 236 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules.”
What is the penalty under the article on violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules?
Here we are talking about causing through negligence a mass disease or poisoning of people, as well as creating a similar threat. For this, they will be fined 500–700 thousand rubles, and may be deprived of the right to hold a certain position for two to three years or imprisoned (sent to work) for up to two years.
Moreover, if the violation results in someone’s death, the punishment will be even more severe. This is, for example, if the owner of a fake certificate infects someone with coronavirus, and he dies from complications. In this case, the fine will increase to one to two million rubles (or the amount of income for one to three years), and the prison term or forced labor will increase to three to five years.
Where can I get an antibody test after vaccination with EpiVacCorona? More details
The mitigating factor that the person who ordered the certificate did not intend for anyone to die will not relieve him of liability.
