Thousands of forged vaccine certificates produced in Swiss canton

More than 8,000 forged vaccination certificates were issued in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen, according to a statement by regional officials on Thursday.

Investigations are now focusing on a group of employees working at private testing centre for Covid-19, as their work gave them access to the national system for issuing the Covid-19 certificates.

The suspects face up to five years in prison or fines.

Those who paid large sums for fake vaccination certificates likewise sentences or fines, according to the canton's administration.

The illegal certificates are no longer valid.

Low vaccination rate

With a vaccination rate of around 61 per cent of the population, St. Gallen is among the poorest performers of all of the Swiss cantons.

Overall, Switzerland's vaccination rate is almost 67 per cent.