As vaccine mandates proliferate, the black market for counterfeit cards has boomed. In the city, both the unvaccinated and vaccinated under-21 variety have been procuring cards ahead of the city’s deadline to begin enforcing its mandate for patrons and employees on Monday. Supplying them is a word-of-mouth network made up of friends, co-workers, drug dealers, and unscrupulous doctors. And, at least among Gen-Z, there isn’t much by way of judgment. When I reached out to several people in my inner and outer circle, most of whom are vaccinated, to ask if they could assist me in acquiring a counterfeit card, I received little to no follow-up questions or outrage. The response was largely understanding, supportive, even sympathetic. “I know a guy,” one friend joked before clarifying, “No, but actually, I really do.”

Bars and restaurants are a prime target of the vaccine mandates, but, in spite of or because of that, it appears workers are only becoming savvier at evading them. A 21-year-old East Village bartender called Dana said she isn’t vaccinated and neither are many people working in her industry. “Every single time I go to a bar,” she said, “there is someone that I know or can sense is not vaccinated.” What’s more, employers haven’t given her or her co-workers any specifics to look for on patrons’ vaccination cards, merely asking that Dana and her co-workers use their discretion.

“I’ve never had a shot in my life,” Dana said proudly, telling me both her parents are doctors from outside the U.S., and she grew up all over the world, in “places where vaccinations are less of a thing.”