The New York Times reported that a man from Biella, Italy, hid two rubber foam arms under a theater corset in order to score a vaccine pass.
Filippa Bua, the nurse administering the vaccine, told The Times that when the patient sat down, he pulled his sweatshirt slightly, creating a small gap where his shirt and foam arm were visible.
The man was asked to uncover the rest of his arm because he was suspicious. Bua told La Repubblica that it wasn't the same colour.
Bua paused when she couldn't see the man's veins.
Bua said that it was made of rubber foam.
The man in the thick theater corset wore two rubber foam arms to score a vaccine pass after Italy announced last week that people will have to show proof of vaccination, or the Green Pass, at bars and restaurants.
Protests have taken place across the country.
Italy was the first country in Europe to mandate vaccines for healthcare workers and under new rules, workers like teachers, police officers, and other hospital staff will have to be fully vaccination to maintain their jobs as well.
The unnamed man was a health worker who had been suspended from his job for not being up to date with his vaccinations.
According to The Times, as vaccine eligibility has widened in Italy, close to 13% of adults have yet to receive a single shot with a months-long increase in cases and renewed concern about the Omicron variant.
The man with foam arms is being investigated for fraud after being caught, but Bua said he was pleasant and serene after being caught.
The president of the Piedmont region where Biella is located said that what happened was unacceptable given the sacrifice the community is enduring because of the Pandemic.
The poorly veiled trick didn't impress Bua.
Bua thought a nurse couldn't tell the difference between rubber foam and skin.
Filippa Bua told La Repubblica that she felt offended. The man was asked to uncover the rest of his arm because he was suspicious. It wasn't the same colour as the one made before it. The man asked if she would have thought of him having such a body.
