Doctors and pharmacists who injected COVID-19 vaccine dodgers with a saline solution instead of Pfizer have escaped jail in Austria.
The four health workers drew up a list headed with ‘Pfizer’ and a code word, ‘Egal’, which means ‘not bothered’ in German, judges at Landeck District Court were told on 29th April.
Under local laws at the time in 2021, everyone over the age of 18 in Austria had to be vaccinated.
The court heard how two pharmacists at a chemist’s drew up the list for anti-vaxxers while two doctors conspired to make false entries into public health records.
The head of one pharmacy, who has not been named due to local privacy laws, claimed: “I noticed uncertainty among my employees when it came to the COVID vaccination.”
The judge in summing up said a large number of the pharmacy customers chose ‘egal’ and were given a plain saline solution as well as a fake certificate saying they had been jabbed.
Local media said that over 100 people are believed to have been provided with the bogus certificates.
An unnamed female doctor accused of entering the fake vaccination data into the health system’s digital database refused to give evidence.
Another doctor, also unnamed, even recommended the pharmacy to anti-vaxxers, said prosecutors.
The medic told the court: “Looking at it from today’s perspective, it was obviously wrong, but back then it was just a wild time.”
He added: “My patients also came, as did friends and family members of the pharmacy employees and others.”
The head of the pharmacy, described as the “mastermind” by the judge. was sentenced to a EUR 12,000 (GBP 10,250) fine.
The other three defendants were fined EUR 900 (GBP 770), EUR 3,400 (GBP 2,900), and EUR 14,650 (GBP 12,500) respectively.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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