Dentists pull teeth but an Italian dentist tried to pull a fast one by wearing a silicone arm covering to a vaccination clinic.
Guido Russo, 57, has been unable to work since the dentist declined to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which Italy mandates for health care workers who treat patients in person. Russo is reportedly the only dentist in the Italian city of Biella to be suspended for refusing vaccination.
According to the Italian publication Corriere Torino, the unemployed dentist wore a silicone covering on his arm that included the shoulder and deltoid muscle where he expected the nurse at Biverbanca of Biella to inject the needle containing coronavirus vaccine. Even though he is dead set against getting vaccinated, he reportedly wanted to qualify for the country’s “Super Green Pass,” which lets holders enter densely occupied businesses, such as bars, restaurants, and movie theaters.
Nurse Filippa Bua reportedly said she could tell right away that something was off when Russo presented the phony limb for a shot on Thursday.
“When I uncovered the arm, I felt skin that was cold and gummy, and the color was too light,” Bua told a Corriere reporter. At first, she reportedly thought he was an amputee who had mistakenly offered her the wrong arm for injection but, when she lifted his shirt, she saw the silicone arm.
“I understood immediately that the man was trying to avoid the vaccination by using a silicone prosthetic, into which he hoped that I would inject the drug, unaware,” Bua said, adding the man was courteous and left the vaccination center after the failed attempt.
The nurse reportedly conferred with coworkers and after they determined that Russo’s ruse was probably attempted fraud, they referred the matter to authorities.
Colleagues described him to Italian reporters as a particular person who was playful and funny while in the professional building where his office was located, along with other doctors and lawyers.
The Corriere Torino report included photos of his office door with a sign informing prospective patients he would not check their “Green Pass” because presenting it was voluntary in his office.
The sign advised patients to practice precautions they needed to prevent COVID-19.
His position reportedly garnered him some sympathy, and some called the stunt almost brilliant. “If it were not for the fact that the gesture put the whole category in a bad light, it would have also been nice,” some inhabitants of his building reportedly said before concluding, “but, such things cannot be done during the pandemic.”
According to the Associated Press, Italians between 30 to 59 are the most reluctant age group to get COVID-19 vaccinations, with almost 3.5 million in that group remaining unvaccinated.
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