A New York City clinic is under investigation for "fraudulently" acquiring the COVID-19 vaccine and illegally transporting it to other parts of the state.
ParCare Community Health Network, with five locations in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan, advertised that it would make Moderna’s vaccine available to people on a "first-come, first-served basis," per Fox News.
On Saturday, New York Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker announced ParCare was under criminal investigation over concerns it "may have fraudulently obtained" the COVID-19 vaccine and "transferred it to facilities in other parts of the state in violation of state guidelines and diverted it to members of the public."
"We take this very seriously, and DOH will be assisting state police in a criminal investigation into this matter," Zucker's statement said. "Anyone found to have knowingly participated in this scheme will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
ParCare said the vaccine was for "high risk, the elderly, and those with underlying conditions," which New York state argues is not its current decree. New York officials have said the vaccine should be administered to frontline healthcare workers and first responders, as well as nursing home residents and staffers.
On Monday, a ParCare spokesperson said the clinic had been given contrary information by a DOH representative on Dec. 21, the day it received the Moderna shipment.
"There was nothing illegal here, no black markets transfer,” the spokesperson told Fox News. "The company was told — over the phone — it was allowed to re-distribute the doses to other clinics in its network.”
ParCare said it had since "proactively returned" its existing inventory of vaccines to the state "pending the department's review."
ParCare is said to have administered more than 850 initial doses. There was no word on whether recipients would receive the second dose.
One ParCare patient said she filled out an online form and was charged $150 for the vaccine.
Fox News obtained a packing slip indicating the vaccines had been shipped directly to ParCare in Monroe, New York, from a McKesson pharmaceutical supply warehouse in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, according to the paper.
The New York governor's office and Moderna did not respond to requests asking for comments.
According to some legal experts, the ParCare situation might be due to a misunderstanding.
"I doubt that ParCare Medical Center CEO would have advertised him receiving the COVID vaccination if he understood it was illegal," said Kagya Amoako, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of New Haven. "Stating that they administer vaccinations to those qualified to receive them under the state's DOH guideline, which includes front-line health care workers and first responders, is not the same as stating that the recommended sequence of vaccination by the group that was adhered to.
"Teeth may need to be added to the vaccination guideline language to clear up any confusion about consequences or lack thereof of not following the guidelines."
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