A man in Italy is facing charges of fraud after trying to avoid the COVID-19 shot by using a fake arm. According to The Guardian, the 50-year-old showed up to a vaccine center with what may have been an entire fake arm or a silicone layer over his skin.
The health worker initially failed to catch the man’s bizarre tactic when he sat down for his shot. After she took a closer look, however, Filippa Bua sensed something strange. She then told the man to take his shirt off. That’s when the plan of the desperate anti-vaxxer fell apart.
“I felt offended as a professional,” Filippa Bua told La Repubblica, according to The Guardian. “The color of the arm made me suspicious and so I asked the man to uncover the rest of his left arm. It was well made, but it wasn’t the same color.”
Health workers didn’t specify the details of the fake arm. According to the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, the man may have detailed his plan in a post seen on social media. The Twitter post, according to the newspaper, featured an image of a man with a silicone chest and half-body suit, along with fake arms.
“If I go with this, will they notice? Maybe beneath the silicone I’ll even put on some extra clothes to avoid the needle reaching my real arm,” the social media user wrote, The Guardian reports.
Italy recently announced that unvaccinated people will be barred from several social, cultural and sporting events. The country has seen an increase in the number of vaccinated people since making the announcement.
Alberto Cirio, head of the Piedmont regional government in Italy, commended Bua’s awareness.
“The promptness and skill of the health worker ruined the plans of this person, who will now have to respond to the judiciary,” Cirio said in a joint statement with regional health councillor Luigi Icardi, according to The Guardian.
