Italian anti-vaxxer wears fake arm to Covid vaccine appointment

Silicone prosthetic arm looked ‘very similar’ to real skin but raised suspicion

A pharmacist administers the third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to an elderly person in a pharmacy in Milan, northern Italy. (EPA)

An Italian anti-vaxxer attempted to trick vaccinators by offering up a fake silicone arm for them to inject in order to secure a Covid-19 health certificate, local authorities have said.

The 50-something man has since been reported to police in the northern city of Biella.

The regional governor, Alberto Cirio, described the silicone on the prosthetic arm as looking “very similar” to real skin.

But “the colour and touch raised the suspicion of the health worker, who asked him to show the whole arm,” Mr Cirio said.

In a Facebook post, he added: “The incident would border on the ridiculous, were it not for the fact that we are talking about an extremely serious act.”

According to reports from the Ansa news agency, the man worked in the health sector and has been suspended from his job in light of his trickery and refusal to have the coronavirus vaccine.

In Italy, the Covid-19 jab is a mandatory requirement for all health workers.

According to data from the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, an average of 13,156 cases per day were reported in the country in the last week.