posted on Dec, 28 2020 @ 09:46 PM
Here
Mods don't delete since now there is a 404 on it. I guess there is since other members said so.
State doctors, nurses and health care providers could be stripped of their medical licenses and face fines of up to $1 million if they fraudulently
obtain, transfer or distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared in an executive order Monday.
The order was announced Monday as a downstate provider is faced with criminal charges for potentially fraudulently obtaining and administering the
COVID-19 vaccine to New Yorkers.
State police, together with the state Department of Health and state Attorney General Letitia James, continue to investigate reports that Parcare
Community Health Network, Orange County, improperly obtained, transferred and distributed the vaccine to 869 New Yorkers in the general public.
“In order for the vaccine to be most effective in protecting our communities, we must all follow the same distribution plan,” Ms. James said in a
prepared statement Monday. “We will not tolerate any attempts to circumvent that process.”
Cuomo declared an executive order threatening to revoke all state licenses for health care providers, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, who
fraudulently administer a coronavirus vaccine, increasing criminal penalties up to $1 million.
“We will not tolerate any fraud in the vaccination process,” Cuomo said Monday during a coronavirus briefing in the state Capitol. “We want to
send a clear signal to the providers that if you violate the law on these vaccinations: we will find out and you will be prosecuted.”
Providers will be required to certify a patient’s eligibility to receive a COVID-19 vaccine under the order to ensure medical personnel prioritize
eligible patients within the DOH’s specific prioritization guidelines.
The responsible health organization, individual employees and patients who knowingly received a fraudulent vaccine could each face charges.
“You have many people who want the vaccine and you’ll have fraud in the vaccine process,” the governor said. “It’s almost an inevitable
function of human nature and of the marketplace.”
Parcare is the only health provider in the state under investigation for deceitful vaccine distribution.
DOH, the attorney general and state inspector general continuously monitor the vaccine distribution system and health organizations.
Cuomo declined to release other details, citing an ongoing criminal investigation.
“It’s going to be a question of the facts, and I don’t know any facts at this time that I would convey that wouldn’t compromise the
investigation,” he said.
The state distributes the vaccine to hundreds of providers statewide.
Facilities are provided the vaccine after submitting a form to DOH claiming to be a qualified health center.
DOH Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker denied Parcare’s claim to be a qualified facility to vaccinate New Yorkers.
“That’s strike one,” he said. “They moved it from one area to another area, which is inappropriate, which is strike two, and they gave it to
people not on the priority list. ... Three strikes and they’re out.”
Falsifying business records is a crime with penalties up to one year in prison, Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa added.
The DOH will work to make sure the 869 New Yorkers who were allegedly fraudulently vaccinated receive the second necessary dose of the vaccine.
“There are two sides to the investigation, including the public health side, and we will always do what’s best for public health,” Zucker said.