State health officials in New York are investigating a health care provider in New York City regarding an alleged protocol violation as part of the state’s rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.
The ParCare Community Health Network in Brooklyn may have “ fraudulently obtained the COVID-19 vaccine, transferred it to facilities in other parts of the state in violation of state guidelines and diverted it to the public – in violation of the plan of the stands to administer it first to primary care health workers, as well as nursing home residents and staff, ”said Howard Zucker, New York Health Commissioner.
The company told Reuters it was cooperating with the criminal investigation, saying it aims to “ provide critical health care and administer COVID-19 vaccinations to those qualified to receive them under New York State guidelines. Department of Health, including primary care workers and responders. “
Last week, a report surfaced in The New York Times describing how the New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital had given access to the vaccine to some hospital workers who were not at high risk of contracting the virus.
Staff from other hospitals told the Times that they raised concerns internally but did not speak up for fear of professional retaliation.
The New York State Deployment Program mandates that high-risk individuals, such as doctors, nurses, and emergency responders, have priority when it comes to getting the vaccine.
“We take this very seriously and [the New York Department of Health] will assist state police in the criminal investigation of this matter, ”said Zucker of ParCare’s allegations.