B.C. nurse suspended for faking vaccine cards

Ravi Kahlon, B.C. Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, has his provincial COVID-19 vaccine card scanned by White Spot restaurant general manager Bill Warwick, before having breakfast in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A nurse in B.C. has been suspended for six months for creating fake vaccine cards last year.

The province required proof of vaccination in order to access many non-essential services between Sept. 13 of 2021 and April 8, 2022.

Sarah Jones of Castlegar used "her position, experience, credibility in public health, and her knowledge of the vaccination system to effect the fraudulent creation of four vaccine cards," according to a notice posted by the BC College of Nurses and Midwives Friday.

The six-month suspension was one of the terms of a consent agreement Jones entered into related to the 2021 misconduct. A consent agreement, which is approved by a committee, means that both parties have agreed on both the description of the complaint and the disciplinary action.

The college also says that Jones "presented a varied version of events" to multiple parties during the investigation.

"Her conduct was deemed a marked ethical departure from the conduct expected of a nurse," the notice reads.

Remedial ethics education is the second term of the agreement.

In December of 2021, the province issued a statement saying it was taking steps to make sure records proving immunization were being reviewed in order to prevent fraud.

"Records that are submitted and are suspected to be fraudulent are being reported to law enforcement," it read.

Other incidents of alleged fraud related to vaccine cards have included a pharmacy in the Lower Mainland that was reportedly helping unvaccinated people download the electronic proof of immunization, and vulnerable people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside being offered money by people who were trying to get a card without getting the shot themselves.