Edited by: TJVNews.com
ParCare, the Brooklyn-based health care company that finds itself being investigated for offering the Moderna coronavirus vaccine to people who are not front line workers and residents or staff of nursing home facilities, said on Sunday that it “proactively returned” its remaining stash of COVID-19 vaccines, according to a NY Post report. Parcare is alleged to have fraudulently obtained and diverted the vaccine.
The company said it “provided the documentation regarding the proper receipt of the vaccines to the NYS DOH.”
“In an effort to fully cooperate with NYS DOH, ParCare has proactively returned its vaccines pending the Department’s review,” according to the statement.
“We are confident the end result of that review will show that ParCare at all times exerted best efforts to comply with all NYS DOH requirements and will allow us to continue to achieve our number one goal of providing these critical vaccines to the New Yorkers who need them most.”
On Sunday, the NY Post reported that a hand-lettered sign saying “NO Vaccines!!” was taped to the front door of the ParCare Community Health Network storefront in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn after The Post inquired if injections were available.
The Post reported that five people were seen going into the clinic at 445 Park Ave. but a reporter was denied entry, with a nurse saying, “We are only allowing people with appointments in.”
When asked if patients were getting inoculated against the coronavirus, the nurse said, “We do not have any vaccines.”
Mark Meyer Appel said he got it there. The 68-year-old is diabetic and regularly distributes food to those in need through the Bridge Multicultural and Advocacy Project.
“I kept calling. I filled out the application, which was a lot of questions about my health,” Appel said.
VINnews initially reported a criminal investigation has been announced into a health-care network that operates clinics in Boro Park, Bensonhurst and Williamsburg over administering unauthorized COVID-19 vaccines.
Health Commissioner Howard Zucker made the announcement on Saturday, saying in a statement that ParCare Community Health Network “may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccine, transferred it to facilities in other parts of the state in violation of state guidelines and diverted it to members of the public.”
According to the statement, the network’s actions violate the state’s plan to reserve the initial limited supply of vaccines for frontline healthcare workers, nursing home residents and staffers.
According to reports, ParCare had received 3,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine, and had vaccinated at least 500 Boro Park residents.
A ParCare ad said that “the FDA authorized” the network to receive “a minimal number of COVID-19 vaccines.”
“The vaccines will be made available on a first-come, first-serve (sic) basis,” according the ad.
The ad also said the vaccines will be given “Only for people in the following categories,” and lists: “Elderly, high risk, underlying conditions.”
A Boro Park resident told the NY Post that his father, in his 60s, had received the vaccine at a ParCare clinic in Williamsburg.
“We take this very seriously and DOH will be assisting State Police in a criminal investigation into this matter. Anyone found to have knowingly participated in this scheme will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” State Health Commissioner Zucker said.
New York state has reported more than 914,000 cases of Covid-19 infection and more than 37,000 deaths related to the virus.
