Moderna's wrong spelling on COVID-19 vaccine card leads to tourist's arrest in Hawaii

A woman was arrested in the United States on the charges of allegedly submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card on her visit to Hawaii, according to The Associated Press. The 24-year-old woman was visiting Hawaii from Illinois and she produced a fake vaccination card in order to avoid the state's 10-day quarantine which is mandatory for travellers. She was arrested after officials found a glaring spelling mistake in her vaccinate card: Moderna was spelt "Maderna", reported The AP. The report further stated that she reached Honolulu on August 23, after uploading a vaccination card to the state's Safe Travels program. After Airport screeners found suspicious errors, Wilson Lau, a special agent with the Hawaii attorney general's division wrote a mail to the officials in Delaware - a state where the woman claimed to be vaccinated.  

Take a look at the fake vaccination certificate here: 

Woman charged with violating Hawaii's emergency rules

Meanwhile, replying to the mail, an official from Delaware confirmed that no vaccination record was found under the woman's name and date of birth, reported The AP. According to the public defender's office, she has been charged with violating Hawaii's emergency rules to control the spread of COVID-19. It further informed that she had been in custody on $2,000 bail before being released on Wednesday by a local court. The next hearing is scheduled in three weeks times, it stated. However, State Public Defender James Tabe, whose company represented the woman at hearings, refused to comment anything on the matter. 

Citing her travel information, the officials said that she was slated to stay at a Waikiki Holiday Inn but did not provide the reservation detail and return flight documents, reported The AP. Meanwhile, Lau tried to reach her after an assistant manager at the hotel confirmed that she did not have a reservation. Lau said that he emailed the woman but did not get a response from her. He further informed that she was arrested at a Southwest Airlines counter when she was trying to leave Honolulu on August 28. It should be mentioned here that several other visitors have also been arrested in Hawaii for producing fake vaccination cards, reported The AP. 

Image Credits: AP/Representative Image