Australian nurse inserted needle, pretended to inject COVID-19 vaccine, police say

Police in Western Australia have charged a nurse with fraud after she was discovered pretending to vaccinate her friends and family.

Christina Hartmann Benz, 51, has been charged with one count of gains benefit by fraud after her supervisor observed her inserting a vaccine needle into the teenager of a friend on Sunday without dispensing the vaccine, the Sydney Herald reported .

She had previously vaccinated up to 25 people that previous weekend, all of whom had specifically requested her, a police prosecutor told the Perth Magistrates Court.

She had already sought approval from the clinic where she had worked since November 2 vaccinate her family and friends, but raised suspicions when visitors would ask for her by name and then enter a room with her, with the door closed, citing privacy reasons, which the prosecutor said was “clearly an anti-vaccination stance.”