Alberta's new proof-of-vaccination cards can be easily edited, residents say
Albertans needing proof they're vaccinated against COVID-19 were able to download cards from the province's website on Sunday, but almost right away some residents said they were easily able to edit them.
Dan Shugar, who lives in Calgary, says the card was in a PDF file which he was able to edit to say his name was “Fakus McFakeFace” and that he'd received doses of “Ivermectin Horsey Paste” and “Bleach.”
He says all of the fields could be edited and making changes was “mindbogglingly easy.”
The government announced the availability of the cards in a news release on Sunday, a day before its “restrictions exemption program” launches.
The program allows businesses and venues to operate without capacity limits and other public health measures if they require proof of vaccination or a negative test result from anyone entering.
Health ministry spokeswoman Amanda Krumins acknowledges in an email that “a motivated individual” can edit the PDF, but that “work continues on a more secure QR code that will be available in the coming weeks.”
“It's important to point out that falsifying a health record is an offense under (the) Health Information Act,” Krumins wrote.
“That said, we know the vast majority of Albertans will use the system properly and adhere to the legal requirements set out in the current public health orders.”
Premier Jason Kenney had opposed a vaccine passport over what he said were privacy concerns, but said last week it has become a necessary measure to protect Alberta's hospitals that face the prospect of being overwhelmed in the pandemic's fourth wave.
Kenney said in a Facebook live video on Thursday night that since he announced the passport system, COVID-19 vaccine bookings have nearly tripled in the province.
Many people, however, reported difficulty in obtaining the required proof they'd been vaccinated in the days that followed the announcement.
Prior to the cards becoming available on Sunday, Albertans had the option of either showing sheets of paper they'd received when they got their shots, or signing up for a system that would allow them to view their vaccine records online.
The latter option required many people to sign up for a digital ID, and people who tried said they faced long, frustrating delays due to the system being overwhelmed.
The province says the new cards can be downloaded with an Alberta Health number, without the need for creating an online account and with minimal or no wait time.
It says Albertans will still be able to use their existing immunization records, including those received at their vaccination.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.