The coronavirus vaccine has finally arrived in New York, but only a select group of people at risk are expected to receive it in the first round.
© Kathy Willens / Associated Press
Many of ParCare’s patients are Orthodox Jews, a population that has been hit hard by the virus, and clinics have worked with the city in contact-tracking efforts.
These restrictions did not prevent other people from trying to get the vaccine, including unauthorized health professionals in some hospitals. The state is now investigating whether a chain of health clinics in New York has provided vaccines to members of the public who were not members of state-prioritized groups – the most at-risk health workers and residents and asylum workers.
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On Saturday, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker announced an investigation at the clinics, which he said “may have fraudulently obtained the Covid-19 vaccine, transferred to facilities in other parts of the state in violation. state guidelines and diverted to members of the public. “
“We take this very seriously, and DOH will be assisting the state police in a criminal investigation into the matter,” he said.
The clinics are run by the ParCare Community Health Network, which has units in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Kiryas Joel, a village northwest of the city. The investigation was first reported by The New York Post on Saturday.
Many of ParCare’s patients are Orthodox Jews, a population that has been hit hard by the virus, and clinics have worked with the city to provide free coronavirus testing in predominantly Orthodox neighborhoods.
ParCare retweeted a photo of an older rabbi receiving the vaccine from his Twitter account, and the Rabbinical Alliance of America shared a photo on Twitter who claimed to show ParCare chief executive Gary Schlesinger receiving the vaccine.
The posts have already been deleted, but a ParCare representative confirmed that Mr. Schlesinger had received the vaccine because he works at the clinics every day.
The ParCare representative said in an e-mailed statement that the company followed all procedures of the state Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to obtain and distribute the Modern coronavirus vaccine, and that the clinics returned vaccines to the department for investigation.
He provided a reporter with what appeared to be a delivery note and an email showing that the health department had sent 2,300 doses of the vaccine to ParCare.
More than 850 have been administered, he said.
“We are confident that the end result of this review will show that ParCare has always made the best efforts to meet all NYSDOH requirements and will allow us to continue to achieve our number one goal of providing these essential vaccines to New Yorkers who need them most. ”Said the statement.
Vaccine ads appeared on ParCare Twitter feed on December 16, two days after the Pfizer vaccine was first administered in New York. The ad said “vaccines will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis” and asked patients to register via a website or by scanning a QR code.
The announcement also said that the Food and Drug Administration authorized ParCare to administer the vaccine, but the administration of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is responsible for distributing the vaccine in the state. Some state health clinics have received the vaccine, but are not yet expected to give it to people outside the prioritized groups.
Members of the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn protested government restrictions on religious meetings to reduce the spread of the virus, and images of orthodox weddings and crowded funerals appeared on social media.
Orthodox and Catholic Jewish institutions filed a lawsuit against Cuomo that ended with a US Supreme Court ruling in November that the governor’s coronavirus restrictions on the size of religious services violated the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom.
At the time, Cuomo said the decision “has no practical effect” because coronavirus cases have declined in many of the areas where the rules were in place. Now that the rate of positive test results in New York is reaching levels not seen since spring, the decision may be more relevant.
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