A woman walks past the entrance of the vaccination center in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Probst,file)
A 60-year-old man allegedly had himself vaccinated against COVID-19 dozens of times in Germany in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.
The man from the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released in line with German privacy rules, is said to have received up to 90 shots against COVID-19 at vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months until criminal police caught him this month, the German news agency dpa reported Sunday.
The suspect was not detained but is under investigation for unauthorized issuance of vaccination cards and document forgery, dpa reported.
He was caught at a vaccination center in Eilenburg in Saxony when he showed up for a COVID-19 shot for the second day in a row. Police confiscated several blank vaccination cards from him and initiated criminal proceedings.
It was not immediately clear what impact the approximately 90 shots of COVID-19 vaccines, which were from different brands, had on the man's personal health.
German police have conducted many raids in connection with forgery of vaccination passports in recent months. Many COVID-19 deniers refuse to get vaccinated in Germany, but at the same time want to have the coveted COVID-19 passports that make access to public life and venues such as restaurants, theaters, swimming pools or workplaces much easier.
Germany has seen high infection numbers for weeks, yet many measures to rein in the pandemic ended on Friday. Donning masks is no longer compulsory in grocery stores and most theaters but it is still mandatory on public transportation.
In most schools in Germany, students also no longer have to wear masks, which has led teachers' associations to warn of possible conflicts in class.
“There is now a danger that, on the one hand, children who wear masks will be teased by classmates as wimps and overprotective or, on the other hand, pressure will be exerted on non-mask wearers,” Heinz-Peter Meidinger, the president of the German Teachers’ Association, told dpa. He advocated a voluntary commitment by teachers and students to continue wearing masks in class and on school grounds, at least until the country goes on a two-week Easter holiday..
Health experts say the most recent surge of infections in Germany — triggered by the BA.2 omicron subvariant— may have peaked.
On Sunday, the country's disease control agency reported 74,053 new COVID-19 infections in one day, while less than a week ago it reported 111,224 daily infections.
Overall, Germany has registered 130,029 COVID-19 deaths.
Neil Young has come up with an ultimatum for Spotify: his music or Joe Rogan’s podcast. This comes over concerns that the podcast is spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation to its listeners. "The Joe Rogan Experience," which is exclusive to Spotify, is currently the number one streamed podcast on the platform.
The American Federation Teachers Union has announced its latest partnership with NewsGuard in efforts to help educators play a greater role in deciphering facts from fiction that students see online. They say the goal is to help students build critical-thinking skills while also teaching them the importance of media literacy. Executive Vice President of Partnerships at NewsGuard, Sarah Bandt, joined Cheddar to talk more.
Doctor Caroline Leaf has created a 21-day program, consisting of five simple, but mindful, steps designed to rid our minds of toxic thoughts, anxiety, and depression. This brain detox is scientifically proven to impact one's happiness and success. Doctor Caroling Leaf, neuroscientist, author, and speaker at Switch Your Brain, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The memoir, "COMPROMISED: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump", tells a familiar story from a bit of a different source: Peter Strzok himself, former FBI Counterintelligence Agents and Agency Veteran who spent most of his very long career investigating some of the most controversial inquiries, most notably in recent American history. Those inquiries were Hillary Clinton's email to even Trump Russia investigations. Former FBI Agent and Author of "Compromised" Peter Strzok, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Foodable Labs data shows restaurants that started offering vegan options saw a 13% increase in traffic. According to this 2018 study, 51% of U.S. restaurants now offer vegan options, and we can expect that number to keep rising. This week, one plant-based, fast-casual restaurant celebrates the grand opening of their first brick-and-mortar store in New York City: PLNT Burger. Ben Kaplan, CEO of PLNT Burger, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Commercial and residential buildings account for 13% of carbon emissions in the U.S., according to the EPA, and one company says it has a solution. Runwise says it has updated the boiler and heating systems of thousands of buildings, and that its technology not only lowers carbon output but also saves landlords money. Lee Hoffman, Co-Founder and COO of Runwise, joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Kirsten Jordan, real estate broker and star of 'Million Dollar Listing New York,' joins Cheddar News to talk about the state of New York City real estate, tips for homebuyers, and season 9 of the Bravo show.
No. 2 pencils or Scantron bubble sheets are a thing of the past for the SATs. Priscilla Rodriguez, head of college readiness assessment for the College Board, joined Cheddar News Wrap to talk about the modern overhaul of the college entrance exam. On top of the change to an all-digital format and shorter time limit, the latest iteration will feature updates to help with flexibility and security. "As we've built our own digital testing platform, the app the students will do this on, we built this with security at the core," Rodriguez said. "And, in going digital we can do something we can't do today, which is, give every student who's taking the SAT, let's say in a given day, even in a given room in a school, a different version of the SAT."
