Health Ministry Punishes Transcarpathian Clinic That Offered Anonymous COVID-19 Vaccination

The clinic offered vaccination to people who did not want to disclose that they had been vaccinated, and to those who had earlier bought forged certificates but changed their minds.

The Ministry of Health has removed a clinic in Transcarpathia that ran an anonymous vaccination point from the list of facilities authorized to administer coronavirus vaccines. It is now prohibited to transfer vaccines purchased with state funds there, BBC Ukraine reports.

The clinic in question is Prevention in the city of Uzhhorod, located at 4/1 Vostochnaya Street. For almost a month, the anonymous vaccination point operated there, drawing Ukrainians not only from Transcarpathia, which lags behind in vaccination rates across Ukraine, but also from other regions.

People with forged certificates were vaccinated there, as were those who feared admitting their vaccination due to possible persecution.

Punishment

"Our minister and the ministry found no better way to thank us for our work than to remove us from the list of facilities that carry out vaccinations!" the clinic's chief physician Viktor Petrov responded emotionally. "In my opinion, the reason for this is that we brought to the surface the crazy problem of falsification and the problem of unvaccinated citizens holding forged certificates!"

According to Petrov, the clinic's results were "excellent." 1,429 people came to the anonymous vaccination point who previously either had a forged certificate or were too embarrassed and afraid to get vaccinated for religious or other reasons. 

The overwhelming majority of those who wanted to be vaccinated previously had a fake paper vaccination certificate.

According to Petrov, all these people received a real vaccine, following all protocols. However, Minister Viktor Liashko disagrees.

Viktor Liashko
Minister of Health of Ukraine

Unfortunately, there are healthcare facilities whose staff do not read the ministry's protocols and ignore warnings. These facilities knowingly violate the licensing conditions for medical activity and will therefore be punished. It is now prohibited to transfer vaccines purchased with state funds or delivered under the global Covax initiative there.

In addition, the minister promised that the licensing commission of the Ministry of Health will thoroughly inspect the facility. Inspections began on December 9.

How the Idea of Anonymous Vaccination Emerged

Transcarpathia lags behind other Ukrainian regions in vaccination rates. In November, a sociological survey found that about 4,000 COVID certificates in Transcarpathia were forged.

However, 30% of those who bought a fake certificate said they would now be willing to get vaccinated. This led to the initiative to create an anonymous vaccination point at the Prevention clinic in Uzhhorod.

The news was immediately met with a negative reaction at the Ministry of Health, since it was developing its own COVID amnesty scheme that did not provide for anonymity.

Minister Liashko threatened the initiators of the vaccinations from the very beginning, while they invited him to see everything for himself over "a glass of wine."

The anonymous clinic operated around the clock. People were vaccinated with Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and CoronaVac vaccines.

To receive a vaccination, one had to fill out an informed consent form. People were asked to provide only a real date of birth and first and last name, or simply a pseudonym.

Doctor Petrov identifies three main factors that prompted people to get vaccinated tens or even hundreds of kilometers from home:

• religious pressure within communities (Baptists, Adventists or other denominations);
• family pressure (when family members are categorically opposed to vaccination);
  
• mistaken beliefs about vaccination (when a person changed their position on vaccines but had already "acquired" a certificate)

People were motivated by the death or severe illness of their loved ones.

According to Professor Fedir Shandor, people came to the anonymous vaccination point by the busload.

What the Ministry of Health Proposes

Viktor Liashko acknowledges that people with forged certificates have found themselves in a difficult situation.

On the one hand, they risk catching COVID; on the other, they cannot protect themselves, because by buying a forgery they have deprived themselves of the right to vaccination if their data was entered into the electronic database.

The minister is also aware of more than one case in which people with forgeries came to medical facilities to get vaccinated and doctors had to refuse them.

In addition, people with forged certificates face punishment ranging from a fine to imprisonment.

Viktor Liashko

We want to settle this situation and release from criminal liability those who purchased a forged COVID document. To avoid punishment, these people must meet a fundamental condition: they must voluntarily confess to the offense and actively assist in uncovering the violation.

That is, if a person with a fake certificate wants to get a real vaccination, they must contact a family doctor or a vaccination point.

Doctors will be obliged to call law enforcement, which will open a criminal case against this person.

They will go to court, testify, and assist the investigation, and as a result, criminal liability will be lifted.

A bill that will establish such a complex procedure is being prepared for its second reading.

At the same time, the minister does not say whether the person with a fake certificate will be vaccinated during the investigation or after the trial.