US Customs and Border Protection seize fake COVID vaccine cards shipped from China

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Pittsburgh seized COVID-19 vaccine cards shipped from China. CBP seized the first of the two international parcels on August 24. CBP officers determined that the parcel of 20 cards had a "low-quality appearance."

CBP said the cards were being shipped to someone in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. That individual, whose identity was not released, is not from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or a certified medical entity, CBP said, reported Fox News. Officers intercepted the second shipment of phone vaccine cards destined for the same individual on September 7. That parcel contained 50 fake COVID vaccine cards.

Both international parcels had been shipped from China, CBP said. "Coronavirus and its variants continue to pose a serious health and safety threat to American citizens, and so do unscrupulous vendors who peddle counterfeit COVID vaccination cards," CBP's port director in Pittsburgh, William Fitting, said in a statement.

"Customs and Border Protection will continue to intercept counterfeit goods, such as these fake vaccine cards, that threaten our nation, our people and our economy," added Fitting. No additional details were released. An investigation is ongoing.

CBP officers in Chicago, Memphis, and Anchorage, Alaska, have seized more than 6,000 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards.