Swiss Ice Hockey coach Patrick Fischer has admitted he used a certificate falsely claiming he had been vaccinated against COVID-19 to get around China’s travel restrictions for the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he led his nation.
In a statement, Fischer, who remains in charge of the Swiss team, said he made a “serious mistake in this matter” by travelling to Beijing with the men’s team using false paperwork.
"I’m very sorry if I’ve disappointed people with this situation,” Fischer said. “I was in an extraordinary personal crisis because I didn’t want to be vaccinated. At the same time I certainly didn’t want to let my team down at the Olympic Games.”
Swiss public broadcaster SRF said it confronted Fischer with documents showing he was fined nearly 39,000 Swiss francs ($50,000) by local authorities in 2023 for document forgery after buying the certificate on social media. SRF said he went public with his admission shortly after.
Get the shot, don’t be a fool like Fischer. It’s not only about protecting you; it’s also about protecting the people around you from adverse consequences. Viral infection don’t just cause short term effects, there are a host of long-term issues that can show up with nearly every (only being cautious with my wording here) infection. SARS-CoV-2 - even a mild infection carries with it 3 months of increased cardiovascular risk, a year of decreased cognitive function. Similarly with influenza, RSV, CMV, etc, etc. Get the shot, wash your hands, wear a mask, and encourage those you know and care about to do the same. Some of what we have thought of as “normal aging” is in fact long-term effects from infectious disease. You are gonna age, you are gonna die, but why would anyone want to speed up the process of degradation?
Beyond the acute phase: a comprehensive literature review of long-term sequelae resulting from infectious diseases https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10864624/