An anti-vaxxer nurse in Germany allegedly injected up to 8,600 people with saline solution instead of the COVID-19 vaccine.The residents, including elderly citizens, were given the fake jabs in northern Germany in the early Spring, a police investigation found.
Authorities appealed to the thousands of people who received their first vaccine at a vaccination centre in Schortens-Roffhausen – a town in the rural district of Friesland in northern Germany – to take another shot of the COVID-19 vaccine after police suspected that the Red Cross nurse had replaced the vaccines with saline solution before administering them to the public.
The Nurse Shared Anti-Vaxxer Posts on Social Media
According to police, the nurse, whose identity has not been released, was a vocal sceptic of COVID-19 vaccines on social media but the nurse's motive is not yet clear.
"I am totally shocked by this episode," Sven Ambrosy, a local councillor, said on Facebook as local authorities issued the call to about 8,600 residents who may have been affected. All of the affected people were over the age of 70 and vaccinated at the same location.
Although saline solution is harmless if injected into the human body, the fake jab puts the elderly residents who got vaccinated in March and April, when the alleged vaccination took place, at high risk of getting infected with the deadly virus. Authorities said people who may have received the saltwater solution in lieu of the vaccine would be contacted to make up their missing dose.
Nurse was Suspended in April After Replacing a Vial of Pfizer Vaccine She Dropped
As reported by Metro UK in April, an investigation was launched against the nurse after she admitted to replacing six doses of a Covid vaccine with saline solution to cover up dropping a vial of the Pfizer vaccine. However, it is unclear why she continued to replace several other vaccine doses administered to the local residents. According to the publication, the crime came to light after the nurse, aged around 40, confided in a colleague and was immediately suspended.
'A Reasonable Suspicion of Danger'
According to police investigator Peter Beer, who spoke at a news conference covered by German media outlets, authorities came to the conclusion after conducting interviews with multiple witnesses in the month of June that there was "a reasonable suspicion of danger."
It was not immediately clear whether the suspect had been arrested or charged in the case, which according to broadcaster NDR has been handed to a special unit that investigates politically motivated crimes.
