By
The Associate Press
A dentist in Italy faces possible criminal charges after trying to receive a coronavirus vaccine on a fake arm made of silicone.
Filippa Bua, a nurse from the northern city of Biella, said she realized right away that
something was wrong when the man showed the limb
for the vaccine on Thursday.
People line up at a COVID-19 vaccination center near the Tor Vergata hospital in Rome.
Alessandra Tarantino / AP
"When I uncovered his arm, I felt that the skin was cold and rubbery, and the color was too light," Bua told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
He said he initially thought the 57-year-old dentist had an amputation and that he had the wrong arm.
She lifted his shirt and saw a silicone arm.
"I understood immediately that the man was trying to avoid vaccination by using a silicone prosthesis
, in which he expected me to inject the dose," said Bua.
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The nurse assured that the man recognized that he did not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but to obtain a 'super' certificate, which
from Monday will be necessary to enter restaurants, cinemas, theaters and other places in Italy.
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The dentist had already been suspended from work for his refusal to be vaccinated, something that Italy requires of health personnel.
The nurse said the man was courteous and left the vaccination center after the failed attempt.
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"We stopped, we reflected, and we understood that it was not just a surreal situation, but
a real attempt at fraud,"
said Bua.
She and other people from the vaccination center handed over the documentation to their superiors so that they could report the case, which has been handed over to prosecutors.
Although the vaccination rate in Italy is relatively high, with 85% of the eligible population aged 12 and over being immunized,
people between the ages of 30 and 59 are the most resistant to vaccination
, with almost 3.5 million people who have not yet received their first dose.