A man is under investigation after authorities discovered he had received up to 10 shots of a coronavirus vaccine in one day.
The unnamed individual has been branded 'unbelievably selfish' as it's believed he signed up for that extraordinary amount of appointments on behalf of other people so they could claim they've been vaccinated.
Astrid Koornneef, group manager operations for the Covid-19 vaccine and immunisation program in New Zealand, said they are looking into how this could have happened.
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"We are very concerned about this situation and are working with the appropriate agencies," she said.
Stuff reports the man visited multiple vaccinations centres during the day and he was paid by different people to pretend he was them getting the jab.
While people around the world have been encouraged to get booster shots, having 10 in your body at once could be intense.
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University of Auckland vaccinologist and associate professor Helen Petousis-Harris said the man would feel pretty rough the next day.
"We know that people have in error been given the whole five doses in a vial instead of it being diluted, we know that has happened overseas, and we know with other vaccines errors have occurred and there has been no long-term problems," she said.
"To assume another person's identity and receive a medical treatment is dangerous.
"This puts at risk the person who receives a vaccination under an assumed identify and the person whose health record will show they have been vaccinated when they have not.
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"Having an inaccurate vaccination status not only puts you at risk, it puts your friends, whānau and community at risk, and the healthcare teams that treat you now in the future.
"Medical practitioners operate in a high-trust environment and rely on people to act in good faith to share information accurately to assist with their treatment."
She also added that the man won't be super protected against the coronavirus as a result of so many jabs.
That's because the body's immune response to building up antibodies to fight the virus plateaus after a certain amount of shots.
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According to the Sydney Morning Herald, that's why researchers settled on the recommended dose for each vaccine shot because there's no point in giving you more if it's not going to benefit.
Having a higher dosage would only make the side effects, like fever or joint pain, worse.
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