Pharmacist arrested for selling CDC COVID vaccine cards to unvaccinated, feds say

Enlarge / Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa holds his vaccination card after receiving his first shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (credit: Getty Images | Allen J. Schaben)

A Chicago pharmacist was arrested yesterday on charges that he sold 125 authentic CDC vaccination cards to 11 buyers for about $10 per card, the Department of Justice announced.

"Knowingly selling COVID vaccination cards to unvaccinated individuals puts millions of Americans at risk of serious injury or death," Special Agent Emmerson Buie Jr. said. "To put such a small price on the safety of our nation is not only an insult to those who are doing their part in the fight to stop COVID-19, but a federal crime with serious consequences."

The licensed pharmacist, 34-year-old Tangtang Zhao, was indicted in July. Zhao worked for a pharmacy that went unnamed by the DOJ and that "distributed and administered COVID-19 vaccines at its physical locations nationwide." The company "provided a CDC Vaccination Record Card to each vaccine recipient" as required by the CDC, and "Zhao obtained and subsequently offered authentic CDC vaccination cards for sale online," the DOJ said.

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