An Italian dentist who attempted to use a fake arm to get the coronavirus vaccine so he could get a heath pass says the incident has ruined his life.
Dentist Guido Russo, 57, was rumbled at the Biver Banca di Biella vaccination centre in Biella, on Thursday 2 December.
He used a silicone and foam arm for his vaccination in an attempt to get a Covid health pass so he could avoid restrictions.
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However, the fake arm, which he reportedly bought on Amazon, was spotted by a nurse.
He has reportedly been suspended from the Order of Doctors recently although it was not clear if that was because of his stance on vaccines, or his attempt to get a Green Pass illegally, resulting in him being investigated for fraud.
Russo, told journalists: "You ruined my life. Go Away. I'll call the police."
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Filippa Bua, the nurse who foiled the man's attempt, said: "He was a distinct person, like so many others, even smiling, which rarely happens of late."
She added: The nurse said: "It was late in the morning of a well-organised day, but very intense from an emotional point of view because those who do not want the vaccine are showing up."
But she became suspicious of the arm after discovering it had an unusual texture.
Bua said: "I immediately realised that something was wrong. We are professionals, but such imaginative things had never happened to me."
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She said: "When I touched the arm to feel it before the injection, I realised it was rubber foam."
Bua then asked Russo to show her his whole arm, which he did.
"He was wearing a stage bust and, when I discovered it, he even tried to make a joke,” she said.
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Bua went on to claim he then asked her to turn a blind eye to what he’d done and let him go, but she reported him to the on-duty doctor.
Russo was already known for his anti-vaccination stance and a sign on the door to his practice in Biella reads: 'The presentation of the green pass is exclusively VOLUNTARY.'
The Governor of Piedmont, Alberto Cirio, said: "It is incredible news, it seems like a joke but there is nothing to laugh about: it is a very serious case."
He went on to say the act was ‘unacceptable faced with the sacrifice that our entire community has paid during the pandemic, in terms of human lives, the social and economic cost’.
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Topics: Coronavirus, World News