NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill late Wednesday that makes falsifying COVID-19 vaccination records, including vaccine cards, a crime.
The “Truth in Vaccination” law was part of a package of legislation modifying the state’s response to the pandemic.
The bill makes the falsification of COVID-19 vaccination cards a class A misdemeanor.
It also creates a new class E felony of computer tampering in the third degree for “intentional entering, alteration or destruction of ‘computer material’ regarding COVID-19 vaccine provisions.”
A class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in prison, while a class E felony has a maximum penalty of four years in prison.
“Using a fake COVID-19 vaccine card to lie about being vaccinated is a disservice to yourself, to your community, and to the people who are doing everything they can to keep their neighbors safe,” Hochul tweeted Thursday. “It is now a crime in the State of New York.”
State Sen. Anna Kaplan, who sponsored the bill, said, “It's never been more urgent that we protect this process from fraud so that the health and safety of the public isn't compromised by bad actors using fraudulent vaccination cards or passports.”
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