Investigations Launched Into Fake COVID Passes After Woman Dies From Incorrect Treatment

Four hundred investigations have been launched in France into networks that may have provided fake COVID-19 health passes.

The Associated Press noted that French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin appeared Sunday on RTL radio where he revealed that officials have already tracked down thousands of fake COVID-19 health passes in the country.

Some of the probing suggests that the distribution of fake passes are “connected to health professionals.”

The issue has gained attention from French media after a woman presented a fake COVID pass at Raymond-Poincare de Garches hospital in Hauts-de-Seine and later died due to improper treatment.

Professor Djillali Annane, head of the hospital’s intensive care unit, revealed the staff believed she was fully vaccinated.

“This was the first time we saw a young woman, with no known history [of medical issues], who had been vaccinated in principle, and who developed a form of the disease remarkable for its severity,” he explained.

After failing to come to a conclusion about her deteriorating health, the woman was given an antibodies test, which allowed doctors to realize she wasn’t vaccinated.

If doctors would have known the truth about her lack of vaccination, they would have administered antibody treatment, which could have saved her life.

“We could have prescribed a treatment based on neutralizing antibodies, something we obviously did not think of, because we thought she was vaccinated,” Annane said.

“To all my colleagues who prescribe false vaccination certificates, I want to say that they are doing their patients a disservice and cheating them.”

The investigation into the fake passes comes as COVID-19 hospitalizations have continued to rise across the country.

France currently requires COVID vaccination passes to enter all restaurants and has continued to expand the rule to venues and events.

The passes can only be obtained by showing proof of full vaccination, a record showing a recent recovery from COVID, or a negative virus test less that is less than 24 hours old.