The Moneyist: I have a fake COVID-19 vaccine card. My best friend won’t speak to me. Why doesn’t she respect my right to not get the shot?

I have a friend who had bad side effects from the vaccine — elevated heart rate — and it put me off getting one. I have a “never say never” approach. I don’t go out that much, but I will obviously be meeting friends and family over Christmas. My family knows I’m not vaccinated. They have made their decision about whether they want to see me, and they have no problem with that. 

I’m fed up with the coronavirus, I’m fed up with the government telling me what to do, and I’m fed up with omicron. My best friend told me she didn’t want to see me if I was going to use a fake vaccine card. She is vaccinated. But she won’t even see me outside, and she has other friends who are not vaccinated whom she has met for walks in the park, and drinks and stuff. 

I want to get through 2022 with as little hassle as possible, and the pandemic has made my anxiety 10 times worse. I barely use the card, only when I really need it. Is that really so bad? The way she went on, you would swear I had robbed a bank, or worse. I said cutting me off was not the answer to a problem, and not a way to treat our friendship.

Another Christmas Canceled 

Dear Canceled,

We’re all fed up. 

But we can only get through this if we wear masks, socially distance and get vaccinated — and, if we are not going to get vaccinated, at least be honest about it. People have a choice to either get vaccinated or not, but choosing the latter and then using a fake vaccine card is not the answer to your anxiety, dealing with a public-health crisis responsibly, or handling a friendship. 

So here’s what I suggest: Rather than think about how your friend is treating you, think about how you are treating people who don’t know you are unvaccinated. They are gathering in a place that requires vaccine cards and, as such, where they have reduced the risk of contracting coronavirus. By entering under false pretences, you have chosen to violate their trust.

As for the vaccine side effects: A miniscule percentage of people have serious adverse events. The vast majority of people experience tiredness, a sore arm, headache, and/or muscle pain. Read this data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you think those potential side effects are an inconvenience, try spending two weeks in bed with COVID-19, losing your taste and smell, or being the reason a beloved older relative ends up on a ventilator.

Now for the financial part: Using a fake vaccine card is a federal crime. The cards carry two federal seals: one from the CDC and the other from the Department of Health and Human Services. Forging vaccine cards, a crime that has been on the rise since President Biden’s vaccine mandate, could result in prison time. You may not get sent to prison, but you could lose your job. 

Fake vaccine cards capitalize on people’s fear about science, and anger about the pandemic and the government’s response. The typical cost of a fake vaccine card with the CDC logo was $100 on Sept. 2. The day after Biden’s Sept. 9 announcement that he would mandate vaccines for federal workers, the price doubled to $200, according to Check Point Software Technologies.

So the coronavirus is exploiting the lack of herd immunity and pockets of unvaccinated people to find ways to mutate and survive. The phony vaccine card manufacturers are exploiting the fears and resentments of unvaccinated Americans who want to cheat and/or game the public healthcare system, and vulnerable people most at risk. And you are exploiting the trust of people you encounter in public spaces. 

As I write this response, over 800,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. That’s higher than the estimated U.S. death toll from the 1918 influenza. Vaccinations have been shown to reduce the likelihood of serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19, and early research suggests the omicron variant can evade immunity from two vaccine doses or past infection, highlighting the importance of a booster dose.

The person you infect may not come down with a serious illness, but what about their friend’s brother’s grandmother or next-door neighbor? I believe vaccinated people should respect the decision of those who decide not to get vaccinated. But the problem here is you are not giving people that same courtesy: You are not giving them all the information they need to make an informed decision.

Your more vulnerable and elderly family members appear to have given you a green light for the holiday parties. By virtue that you are a daughter or granddaughter, you have leverage in that relationship, and forcing your family to choose between you and a vaccine puts them at an unfair advantage. If you don’t want to get vaccinated, don’t do it. But why put other people at risk?

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Your broken friendship should be the least of all of your worries.

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions related to coronavirus at [email protected], and follow Quentin Fottrell on Twitter.

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