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Introduction

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) publicly announced the outbreak of a dangerous virus, SARS-CoV-2, more commonly known as COVID-19. Life since COVID-19 has been plagued by a lack of normalcy and a sense of insecurity across the world, with vaccine-related corruption worsening the already-high levels of stress and fear in people. As the number of infected and dying individuals continued to rise throughout 2020, so did the urgency of creating a vaccine. An increased urgency creates large spaces where systems can be abused. As COVID-19 vaccines gain approval throughout the world, their impact remains unprecedented. Equally as important, vaccine crimes and corruptions complicate an already-immensely complicated public health crisis. These risks range from falsified and inferior vaccines entering the market, vaccine theft within distribution systems, leakages in emergency funding designated for the development and distribution of vaccines, nepotism, favoritism, corrupted procurement systems, and misinformation and conspiracy theories about the safety and efficacy of vaccines (“COVID-19 Vaccines and Corruption Risks”, 2021). The scale and complexity of combating this worldwide pandemic has been unprecedented in recent history, which has created this historical vaccine crisis. It is imperative to be informed on vaccine corruption, fraud, and misinformation to combat it properly.

Connection to STS Theory

COVID-related crimes are related to several theories of STS, including Modernization theory and Tragedy of the Commons. Modernization theory describes the advancement and progression of science and technology in a society as it becomes more updated. This is seen in COVID-related crimes. In a society where things like medicine, personal protective equipment, and vaccines are in high demand, criminals find new and advanced ways to take advantage of this opportunity by creating unique schemes that law enforcement agencies have seldom dealt with before. The tragedy of the commons is a theory in which people act in self-interest which results in the detriment or downfall of the society or population. This relates to crime because criminals who use tactics such as ransomware, fraudulent personas, and vaccine trafficking are attempting to profit by harming others.

Scams through Vaccine Deployment and Distribution Systems

Vaccine deployment is the process where the vaccine becomes accessible to the public. A key challenge when creating a global vaccine is achieving equitable distribution (Bloom et al., 2021). Throughout this entire process exists the risk for corruption. Vaccines are at risk of being stolen from the public supply chain during transport and once at a hospital or public health facilities and being diverted into the black market, resale, or kept for personal use ( “COVID-19 Vaccines and Corruption Risks”, 2021). This risk is so prevalent as supplies are limited and the demand for vaccines is high.

The Corruption of Falsified Vaccines and Fake Relief Efforts

Additionally, the global demand for vaccines is extreme, creating a risk for falsified and inferior vaccines entering the market. This risk is further exacerbated by absent or easily bypassed quality assurance mechanisms during the emergency response. Organized criminal groups have taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, targeting vulnerabilities and gaps in health and criminal systems, by manufacturing and trafficking falsified vaccines (“COVID-19 Vaccines and Corruption Risks”, 2021). There has been no shortage of individuals and groups who attempt to take advantage of people by providing them with a false sense of security or safety to make a profit. Scams, fraud, and other crimes regarding COVID-19 have been very prevalent and have taken many forms. Most commonly, criminals sell false services or products. Examples of these include illicit  or falsified medications, vaccines, and medical testing kits. Interpol, an international law enforcement bureau, has even identified over 3,000 websites offering illegal medicines and medical equipment (Hookway, 2020). Not only are criminals interested in selling illegal products, but they are also posing as charities and collecting donations, stealing identities, and stealing financial information. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has received reports that scammers are retrieving personal information such as social security numbers, and many donations have been sent to a website that falsely claims to be the American Red Cross (DOJ 2020, USAO, 2021). Additionally, the FBI has reported several cases of criminals releasing malicious software and ransomware into personal computers and into larger networks like hospitals, where the network cannot operate until a ransom is paid (D’Ambrosio, 2020).  Ultimately, this is very harmful to the public as there are adverse health outcomes for those victims of these crimes and distrust from the public concerning the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.

Misinformation and Conflicting Public Opinion

The spread of COVID-19 throughout the globe has been matched with misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the origins of the virus and the motives of vaccinations, social distancing, and face masks. These beliefs have created adverse outcomes that remain largely unstudied (Agley and Xiao, 2021). The surveys that have been conducted show that approximately 50-70% of people are willing to receive the vaccine, but there is a large percentage of people who are fearful and hesitant as a result of the vaccine corruption. Additionally, the record-breaking times the vaccine was produced and the limited data on the effects of the vaccine in the long term create concern for some individuals (Hamel et al., 2021). Most significantly, there have been active efforts to create doubt and worry by certain groups, and research is continuing to be conducted on the impacts of these efforts. Factors such as age, accessibility of the vaccine, social media influence, political party, race, and ethnicity are all correlated to an individual’s attitude and experience with COVID-19 and the vaccine (Hamel et al., 2021). Among college students, many outlets are utilized to access vaccine information, including social media, health agencies, personal networks, and university communications. With each source lies a varying level of trust that influences the level of vaccine acceptance. Many college students are urging to return to normalcy, and this largely influences attitudes towards getting vaccinated. Additionally, many college-aged individuals are getting vaccinated to protect loved ones and to protect themselves from getting sick. However, other students are not planning to get vaccinated due to skepticism that the vaccine will work and the worry related to the potential side effects (Deichler, 2021). Overall, the findings show that misinformation and corruption surrounding the vaccine need to be dispelled immediately. Improving public knowledge of the scientific process and support for open science initiatives are essential steps in achieving improved trust in science and disseminating COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and corruption (Deichler, 2021).

Important Education and Prevention Steps

In order to combat vaccine corruption and misinformation, it is imperative that the general public is aware of what to avoid in regard to the vaccine. Additionally, having a general knowledge base on how to identify general cyber fraud will benefit individuals for future public health issues, as well as being safe on the internet in general. Specifically, the FBI recommends that the public is conscientious and cautious of advertisements or offers for early access to a vaccine with payment, requests asking an individual to pay out of pocket to obtain a vaccine or to put their name on a COVID-19 vaccine waiting list, offers for additional medical testing when obtaining a vaccine, people offering to sell or ship doses of a vaccine in exchange for a fee, unsolicited emails or phone calls from someone claiming to be from a medical office, insurance company or COVID-19 vaccine center to determine eligibility and advertisements for vaccines through social media platforms (“Fraud Schemes Related to COVID-19 Vaccines”, 2020). This is the easiest method for scammers to steal money and private health information from the public as well as spreading fake news about the vaccine and the pandemic. As far as general online and cyber fraud prevention techniques, some useful tips include verifying the spelling of web addresses, websites, and email addresses that look trustworthy but may be imitations of legitimate websites, ensuring operating systems and applications are updated to the most current versions, keeping anti-malware and anti-virus software up to date and conducting regular network scans (“Fraud Schemes Related to COVID-19 Vaccines”, 2020). Most importantly, never provide personal information of any sort via email or phone, even if it appears legitimate, and do not communicate with unknown individuals or links. Furthermore, the continued distribution of vaccines and increased eagerness of individuals to be vaccinated require physicians to take an active role in educating patients about the vaccine and the potential malicious behavior that they may encounter (Berg, 2021). Education and knowledge are key to combating this corruption.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new opportunities for criminal organizations to capitalize on the general public’s fear. Vaccine-related crimes such as fraud, theft, and trafficking have been abundant in the midst of the confusion and skepticism around the vaccine. While the vaccine is in such high demand, criminal groups were able to take advantage of this by creating and manipulating supply. Along with crime, misinformation about the virus has spread just as fast as the vaccine was developed. The vaccine, developed in record time in response to the global panic, has been a cause of skepticism and concern among Americans because of varying media sources spreading conflicting information. The CDC and the FBI recommend only trusting sources such as government entities like the CDC for information regarding COVID-19 statistics and vaccine availability and to avoid online payments without verifying the organization.

References

Agley, J., & Xiao, Y. (2021, January 7). Misinformation about COVID-19: evidence for differential latent profiles and a strong association with trust in science. BMC Public Health. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-10103-x.

Berg, S. (2021, January 27). How to help your patients avoid COVID-19 vaccine scams. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/how-help-your-patients-avoid-covid-19-vaccine-scams.

Bloom, D., et al. (2021, February 4). How New Models Of Vaccine Development For COVID-19 Have Helped Address An Epic Public Health Crisis: Health Affairs Journal. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.02012casa_token=rkiZdX4yOtAAAAAA%3 AGPDExswylHd35MPE4pZUCIc3platiBhjuhqSfy1F3NDN04aNjvbOxHyW2Od8B8MUzrwaxz7O91zL&.

D’Ambrosio, M., & Wade, T. (2020, April 15). FBI and Secret Service Working Against COVID-19 Threats. FBI. https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-and-secret-service-working-against-covid-19-threats.

Deichler, A. (2021, March 17). How Much Do College Students Want the COVID-19 Vaccine? SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/how-much-do-students-want-the-covid-19-vaccine.aspx.

FBI. (2020, December 21). Federal Agencies Warn of Emerging Fraud Schemes Related to COVID-19 Vaccines. FBI. https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/federal-agencies-warn-of-emerging-fraud-schemes-related-to-covid-19-vaccines.

Hamel, L., Lopes, L., Kearney, A., & Brodie, M. (2021, March 30). KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: March 2021. KFF. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-march-2021/.

Hart, R., (2020, December 2). Organized Criminals Are Targeting Covid-19 Vaccines, Interpol Warns. Forbes. Forbes. www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/12/02/organized-criminals-are-targeting-covid-19-vaccines-interpol-warns/?sh=1223f2d72b71.

Hookway, J. (2020, December 3). Covid-19 Vaccines Are ‘Liquid Gold’ to Organized Crime, Interpol Says. The Wall Street Journal. www.wsj.com/articles/virus-vaccines-are-liquid-gold-to-organized-crime-interpol-warns-11607000854.

United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. (2021). COVID-19 Vaccines and Corruption Risks: Preventing Corruption in the Manufacture, Allocation, and Distribution of Vaccines. UNODC, www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/COVID-19/Policy_paper_on_COVID-19_vaccines_and_corruption_risks.pdf.

U.S. Department of Justice. (2020, April 22). Department of Justice Announces Disruption of Hundreds of Online COVID-19 Related Scams. The United States Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-announces-disruption-hundreds-online-covid-19-related-scams.

Popov, A. (2020, June 19). Ransomware. Getty Images. www.csoonline.com/article/3236183/what-is-ransomware-how-it-works-and-how-to-remove-it.html.

Vaccine Distribution and Advocacy Updates. (2020, December 31). Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccine Vials in a Row Macro Close Up. www.cda.org/Home/News-and-Events/Newsroom/Article-Details/covid-19-vaccine-distribution-and-advocacy-updates.