Fake COVID-19 vaccine exemptions could be a problem, Ontario officials say

Fake exemptions could be a problem when Ontario's COVID-19 vaccine certificate system takes effect in restaurants, bars, sports stadiums and other venues next Wednesday, officials say.

The province will require a written document from a physician or nurse practitioner stating the bearer is medically exempt from being fully vaccinated, but such a note could be easily forged and presented upon entry to a business, senior government staff told reporters during a background briefing Tuesday.

We all recognize fraud is a possibility," one official said after being asked if people opposed to vaccinations and the certificate system could use their computers to print out exemption notes using phoney letterhead.

The briefing was held in advance of an afternoon news conference by Health Minister Christine Elliott and others.

Exemption notes must contain the name and contact information of the doctor or nurse practitioner.

Officials said the reasons for exemptions must be truly legitimate," with eligible conditions to be released soon.

It is a fairly tight list," one medical official said.

The vaccine certificate system will require staff at restaurants and other impacted businesses to verify that patrons have been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days - and can include vaccines not approved by Health Canada, such as the Sputnik shot from Russia.

In those cases, people must have had three doses of the vaccine not approved by Health Canada, or one dose of such as vaccine followed by a shot of Pfizer or Moderna.

It's not clear how employees asked to verify vaccination status will be able to determine whether foreign vaccine certificates are legitimate, particularly if they are in a language other than English.

Just over 78 per cent of eligible Ontarians over age 12 have had two shots.

At least 718,000 more first doses and 1.5 million second doses must still be given to reach the goal of having 90 per cent of those eligible fully vaccinated, officials said. At the current pace, that would take another six weeks.

In the first seven days after Premier Doug Ford announced his vaccine certificate system, vaccinations increased 33 per cent.

Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1