A Brooklyn health care company said Sunday it had “proactively returned” the remaining stock of COVID-19 vaccines amid a criminal investigation into allegations that the doses were fraudulently obtained and diverted.
In a prepared statement, the ParCare Community Health Network also insisted that it had followed all appropriate procedures to obtain Moderna vaccines and was approved to administer the photos by both the State Department of Health and the Federal Control Centers. and disease prevention.
The company said it “provided documentation on the correct receipt of vaccines to the NYS DOH.”
“In an effort to fully cooperate with the NYS DOH, ParCare has proactively returned its vaccines pending the Department’s review,” the statement said.
“We are confident that the end result of this review will show that ParCare has always strived to meet all DOH requirements in NYS and will allow us to continue to achieve our number one goal of providing these critical vaccines to New Yorkers who have need most ”.
The Moderna vaccine is designed to be given in two doses 28 days apart.
ParCare said, “We will do everything we can to make sure the state understands that our patients are our priority and that everyone gets the second dose accordingly.”
On Saturday, State Department of Health commissioner Howard Zucker said New York State police are investigating allegations that ParCare “could have fraudulently obtained the COVID-19 vaccine, transferring it to units in other parts of the state, in violation of state guidelines and diverted it to members. of the public. “
Zucker’s statement said the investigation involved the ParCare clinic in Orange County, which is one of six he operates.
The others are located in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and a report posted last week on the BoroPark24 website said 3,500 vaccines were distributed on various company sites.
A city official said on Sunday that he had not distributed any vaccines to ParCare.
The New York State guidelines require that the first round of vaccines be given to first-line health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
ParCare CEO Gary Schlesinger reportedly told BoroPark24 that the company was shooting at people who “were health workers, over 60 years old or underlying.”
A photo removed from Twitter, published on Tuesday by the Rabbinical Alliance of America, showed Schlesinger that he himself was receiving one of the coveted photos.
The state DOH did not immediately return a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan