Fake school vaccine scheme exposed 1,500 kids in NY to serious disease threats

David Robinson, New York State Team
·3 min read
11

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.

A nurse holds a vile of the Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccine at the Robert L. Yeager health complex in Pomona on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
A nurse holds a vile of the Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccine at the Robert L. Yeager health complex in Pomona on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.

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

Protestors in 2019 hold signs in opposition to a New York state law approved that year that banned religious exemptions from school vaccinations during a rally outside the state Education Building in Albany
Protestors in 2019 hold signs in opposition to a New York state law approved that year that banned religious exemptions from school vaccinations during a rally outside the state Education Building in Albany

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.

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The scheme began in the 2019-20 school year, just three months after New York repealed non-medical and religious exemptions to school vaccination in June of 2019.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

A measles vaccine sign outside the Robert L. Yeager health complex in Pomona on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
A measles vaccine sign outside the Robert L. Yeager health complex in Pomona on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.

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.

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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.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Fake school vaccine scheme hit Hudson Valley, parts of upstate New York