British Columbia

About 2,000 cases of suspicious COVID-19 vaccine records referred to police in B.C.

About 2,000 cases of people who’ve tried to upload what appear to be fraudulent vaccine records to the provincial system have been referred to police for investigation, B.C.’s health ministry confirmed Friday.

Health ministry says many people have booked appointments for shots after law enforcement called in

Legitimate vaccine records are required to obtain a B.C. vaccine card, which is required to access a wide range of non-essential services. (Janella Hamilton/CBC News)

About 2,000 cases of people who've tried to upload what appear to be fraudulent vaccine records to the provincial system have been referred to police for investigation, B.C.'s health ministry confirmed Friday.

But once law enforcement became involved, many of those people have now booked appointments for legitimate COVID-19 shots, a government spokesperson said, without providing exact numbers.

The news of these investigations comes after Health Minister Adrian Dix announced Monday that letters would be mailed to 1,715 people who've tried to upload their records to the provincial immunization registry without success.

These records are necessary to obtain a B.C. vaccine card, which is required to dine in at restaurants, work out at the gym and attend sports games or concerts.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet confirmed that Mounties are currently investigating suspected fraudulent vaccine records, but couldn't provide an exact number.

The health ministry has said there is a small number of people who've been vaccinated but are still having trouble uploading their records, and the Provincial Health Services Authority is working on correcting the problem.