Dr Liz Gordon: Gaming the Covid Vaccination Certificate
I have joined the land of the vaccinated. As I recounted last week, my first jab was lost in administration, and I had to take action to amend the incorrect record that I had only had one jab, when in fact I had two. I had little faith that it would be put right (on my sixth try) but suddenly, I am all signed up. I have my vaccine certificate (or CVC as it is officially called). Yay.
I was keen to get it to try and subvert it. I read a very interesting Stuff article last week on the poor quality of the document. It is just an ordinary PDF, and anyone with PDF editing software can, well, write their own form.
Within a couple of minutes, I had issued a CVC to Santa Claus, born in 1344. But surely, I hear you say, all anyone has to do is check the QR code and they will know that this is not the real Santa?
But isn’t that exactly what everyone wanted to avoid – thousands of businesses, having to check the credentials of every single person who comes into their bar or swimming pool or gym? Bottlenecks at the entrance to large events? They need something that is secure and hard to forge. Why a PDF? Why not a little app?
Indeed why not just upgrade the tracer app and embed the certificate? Easy peasy? Evidently not.
I dunno, but I predict a large rash of fake CVCs around the place over summer. Many will be real attempts to dodge the rules, but I reckon we will see a large number of Mickey Mouses, Donald Trumps and Adolph Hitlers turning up for a night out. Flaunting a fake ID is yet another way for vaccine refusers to protest, and we will see some of this.
The trouble with this is that the burden will fall on the conscientious business owner who has downloaded the QR reader app and is determined to protect patrons by ensuring only doubly vaccinated persons pass through the doors.
So someone arrives at the door with a CVC and a driver’s licence in the name of Jane Smith, aged 30. But the QR code sys it is the certificate of John Smith, aged 55. There’s going to be an argument, isn’t there? There’s going to be tears.
And what about this birthday malarkey? Fortunately, I don’t think women lie about their age any more (it was mandatory in my Mother’s generation). But one is likely to get the odd sharp intake of breath: “WHAT? Are you that old really”? Charming.
The new order passed last week did make it an offence to forge or borrow someone else’s certificate, but this will be such a minor offence that no penalty is even mentioned. And are the police going to rush mindlessly from venue to venue issuing fines?
I’m just saying that it is madness that the document on which our summer rests in so uniquely shonky. There are 350,000 people out there determined to protest the limitation on their freedoms in any way they can, and here is a method handed to them on a plate.
Anyhow, this may all be moot, as we may all be back in lockdown hiding from the multi-mutated Omicron variant. Who’s heard of Omicron anyway? Is it a letter of the Greek alphabet? Why not Omega, the end of all things? Or is that variant still to come?
Dr Liz Gordon is a researcher and a barrister, with interests in destroying neo-liberalism in all its forms and moving towards a socially just society. She usually blogs on justice, social welfare and education topics.
Omicron is potentially the game changer.
As I write 2 cases in Australia.
Transmission rate worryingly high and our border control must now be on high alert.
A watch this space moment?
Silly, …Omicron is a sign of things to come. It would appear, as previous viral pandemic’s have been, to be a ‘watering down’ of this virus. As viral pandemics have shown, there is a tapering off of these things, like in the Spanish flu, most last in their most lethal form 2-3 years, then become much less transmissible and lethal. It was the same throughout the 19th century. Before the advent of the knowledge of virology and modern medical practice. Its the natural morphing of the virus to not ‘kill’ its host but to change its RNA in response to its hosts greater immune response, which follows lethal pandemics like the Spanish flu. H1N1.
The Spanish flu, lasted for around 2-3 years. It petered out, became extinct ,became far less virulent and became the ancestor of many of todays flus in which we take in our stride,…this too will pass, regards covid 19 as did the viral pandemics of the 19th century, regardless if it was manmade or natural.
There are better times ahead.
The Black Death Plaque lasted from the 1300s until the 1600s so who knows .
True, but the Black Death was a bacterium which scientists now believe started well before the medieval times. One advantage we do have with bacterium is antibiotics, hence why the ‘Plague’ can be successfully treated if diagnosis/ treatment starts promptly. But the numbers of deaths were far higher in the Spanish flu than the Plague, earning it the title of the deadliest pandemic in history.
“Omicron is a sign of things to come. It would appear, as previous viral pandemic’s have been, to be a ‘watering down’ of this virus.”
That appears to be an evidence free claim. Omicron is a mutation of Sars Cov2. Mutations are changes not just a “watering down”. It’s currently unknown whether this mutation results in a virus that is more dangerous or less dangerous to humans, particularly in how it affects those already vaccinated.
We can only see, hopefully it is not as bad as delta. But historical evidence suggests these viral pandemics/ endemics do tend to change their RNA such that they become less virulent and lethal. Often within a matter of several years. Again, we can only wait and see.
You could well be right in this WK. History does supply some useful perspective. In the meantime, proceeding with a more cautious approach is reasonable enough. This way it’s made sure that the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t yet another train.
Yes Liz, tears before bedtime for those poor sods that have to check certificate bona fides.
PM on RNZ this morning appeared to say scanning would not be compulsory for all businesses and situations, which just lets more people off the hook and potentially more resultant infections.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018822438/the-pm-responds-to-covid-19-omicrom-concerns
It’s like everything else wth covid from the outset. Don’t do anything, everything will be all right.
I totally Agee. It is very unfair for the government to foist their bad IT onto the poor people (probably on minimum wages) patrolling the doors! And I don’t just think it will be arguments to worry about, we now have guns and axe attacks in NZ over minor issues.
Door People are just going to wave everyone through because of fears of reprisals and so the whole thing is a farce to be stopping Covid.
The government is doing their lazy usual, push the issue to someone else.
Allowing easily falsified documents on a subject already involved in local and international riots and protests is all going to end well. Yeah Right!
In addition the government should not be opening up the international borders at all. Our health system should be preserved for those who are already in NZ and stopping the spread of Covid, not allowing huge volumes of potentially Covid infected travellers to roam NZ.
When all hell breaks loose, this Christmas will not be the joyful reunions that Granny Herald and the right wingers seem to think it will be.
Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: China warns of ‘colossal’ Covid outbreak as virus variant emerges
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-omicron-outbreak-china-warns-of-colossal-covid-outbreak-as-virus-variant-emerges/J4TSFM7WFTRSKTI7FQDYG6QWRA/
“Who has ever heard of omricon”, asks Liz? Well actually us cryptic crossword nuts, its an anagram of “moronic”.