Magazine: New Zealander may have been paid to get 10 shots in one day
An unidentified man in New Zealand may have been vaccinated as many as 10 times in a single day, according to Stuff magazine, and officials say that might not be a good thing.
The Oceanic publication reports that it’s believed the multi-vaccinated man may have been paid to get shots under the names of other individuals, who want the privileges extended to those protected against covid-19, but don’t want to get the jabs.
Officials were “aware of the issue” and taking it “very seriously,” New Zealand Ministry of Health vaccine program manager Astrid Koornneef told Stuff.
Health officials are also working with law enforcement to investigate the situation. It’s unclear where exactly the individual got his multitude of shots, but Koornneef recommends that he visits a doctor again as soon as he can.
“If you know of someone who has had more vaccine doses than recommended they should seek clinical advice as soon as practicable,” Koornneef suggested.
Auckland University immunology expert Nikki Turner told Stuff that there’s a reason covid-19 vaccines are administered as they are and that going over that dosage could be problematic.
“This is definitely not recommended,” she said. “We have no evidence as to what side effects somebody would have with this amount of vaccine.”
Turner said the man has put himself at “risk” by taking potentially unsafe quantities of medication. Another obvious concern, on a larger level, is that there could be up to 10 unvaccinated people roaming about New Zealand on record as being inoculated when they have not been.
While tightening the identification process for New Zealanders getting vaccine jabs might stop people from taking money to get shots for anti-vaxxers, health care officials worry that making the process more strict could discourage well-meaning people from getting vaccinated.
“People who do not have a form of photo identification are disproportionately people in vulnerable groups — homeless or transient, the elderly, the young, people with disabilities,” a health ministry spokesperson said. “We don’t want to create barriers to their vaccination.”
Although infections have spiked since October, New Zealand has seen only 44 covid-19 deaths since the pandemic began, by Johns Hopkins University’s count. The nation’s health ministry says that just under 90% of New Zealanders are fully vaccinated and only 6% of those eligible have not at least had their first dose.