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NEW YORK


FAKE SCHOOL VACCINE SCHEME EXPOSED 1,500 KIDS IN NY TO SERIOUS DISEASE THREATS

David Robinson
New York State Team


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 * About 1,500 students in the Hudson Valley and other parts of upstate were
   impacted by the fake vaccination scam.
 * The scheme "put lives in jeopardy" and undermined the system intended to
   protect public from serious diseases, health commissioner said.

A fake school vaccination scheme left thousands of New York children unknowingly
exposed to classmates without mandatory shots for serious diseases, including
measles, polio and whooping cough, health officials said.

The scam involved a Long Island-based midwife who provided bogus school
vaccination records to allow about 1,500 unvaccinated students to attend schools
across the state. The scheme impacted about 300 school districts, including some
in Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess counties.



Regulators fined the midwife $300,000 and are contacting impacted schools. The
1,500 students involved in the scam must be up to date on all mandatory school
vaccinations, or in the process of receiving their missing vaccinations, before
they can return to school, health officials said.


HOW THE FAKE SCHOOL VACCINE SCAM HIT NEW YORK



The midwife, Jeanette Breen, gave children the so-called “Real Immunity
Homeoprophylaxis Program,” a series of oral pellets marketed by an out-of-state
homeopath as an alternative to vaccination, health officials said.

Investigators found Breen administered 12,449 fake immunizations to roughly
1,500 school-aged patients as pretext for submitting false information to the
New York State Immunization Information System, officials said.



2024 Outbreak: New York health officials sound alarm on whooping cough outbreak
in schools

Those homeopathic pellets are not authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration nor approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or
state health officials as an immunizing agent against any disease, they added.

The scheme began in the 2019-20 school year, just three months after New York
repealed non-medical and religious exemptions to school vaccination in June of
2019.



It also followed a high-profile measles outbreak in Rockland County that became
a lighting rod for national debate over growing anti-vaccine sentiment in the
U.S. at the time — a public health concern that has exploded during the COVID-19
pandemic.


WHICH SCHOOL VACCINATIONS WERE INVOLVED IN THE SCAM



Still, the fake school vaccine scam uncovered recently began prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic and did not include the COVID vaccine.

The school-mandated immunizations that were part of the scheme included:

 * Diphtheria, tetanus toxoid-containing and pertussis vaccine (DTaP or Tdap).
 * Hepatitis B vaccine; measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR).
 * Polio vaccine; varicella (Chickenpox) vaccine; meningococcal conjugate
   vaccine (MenACWY); booster doses of MenACWY; and the Haemophilus influenzae
   type b conjugate vaccine (HiB)
 * Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) required for day care and pre-k only.



Although not required for school enrollment and attendance, the scheme also
included vaccines for flu and hepatitis, health officials added.

Vaccine layoffs: Vaccine giant Pfizer to lay off 285 workers at Rockland campus.
What to know


WHICH NY COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY FAKE SCHOOL VACCINE SCAM

In response to USA TODAY Network questions, state health officials released the
number of students impacted in each county. They noted they are still working
with education officials to finalize the list of specific schools affected by
the scam.



The number of students impacted by county included:

 * Westchester (39); Rockland (62); Orange (13) and Dutchess (3).
 * Other counties with four or fewer: Putnam, Columbia, Erie, Greene,
   Cattaragus, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Tompkins, Ulster and
   Warren.
 * About 830 of the 1,500 students were on Long Island, with another 349 in New
   York City.


WHAT HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY

Breen, a licensed midwife who operated Baldwin Midwifery in Nassau County, was
found to have violated the state Immunization Registry Law.

Regulators called the $300,000 fine imposed on Breen unprecedented, noting she
will also be barred from administering a vaccination the must be reported to the
state system as part of the settlement.

Breen has paid $150,000 of the fine so far, with the remainder being suspended
contingent upon her following state laws, regulations and conditions of the
settlement.

“Misrepresenting or falsifying vaccine records puts lives in jeopardy and
undermines the system that exists to protect public health,” state Health
Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement. He noted state officials
"will investigate and use all enforcement tools" available to crack down on
anyone violating the school vaccination law.



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