An Italian man is in hot water after turning up for his coronavirus vaccine with a silicone arm.
The incident took place at a vaccine hub in the town of Biella in the northern Piedmont region, where the man, in his 50s, arrived to try to obtain a COVID vaccination certificate without getting jabbed.
The plot, however, never saw the light of day thanks to nurse Filippa Bua, who detected the sham even though the silicone on the man's arm looked "very similar" to real skin.
"I felt offended as a professional. The colour of the arm made me suspicious and so I asked the man to uncover the rest of his left arm. It was well made but it wasn't the same colour", Bua told the newspaper La Repubblica.
This was echoed by regional governor Alberto Cirio, who explained that "the colour and touch raised the suspicion of the health worker, who asked him [the man] to show [her] the whole arm".
Crio added that "the incident would border on the ridiculous, were it not for the fact that we are talking about an extremely serious act".
Also giving kudos to the nurse was President of Piedmont Alberto Cirio, who praised Bua's "promptness and skill" that "ruined the plans of this person, who will now have to respond to the judiciary".
The man reportedly worked in the health sector and had been suspended from his job because he had refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19.