A New York midwife has received an “unprecedented” $300,000 fine for faking the vaccine records of nearly 1,500 school-aged children across the state.
A state investigation found that Nassau County midwife Jeanette Breen, who operated Baldwin Midwifery on Long Island, falsified immunization records after giving students homeopathic pellets instead of mandated vaccinations.
State officials announced on Jan. 17 that the penalty was the first settlement of its kind for a scheme to create false immunization records.
Ms. Breen had patients across the state, including as far as Erie County, but most were on Long Island, according to the New York State Health Department. Out of a total of 1,452 patients, 488 were from Nassau, and 345 were from Suffolk.
The state noted that Ms. Breen had a “history of assisting patient attempts to evade” vaccine mandates.
Since 2019, families have been required by law to prove their children are vaccinated to attend New York’s schools. Non-medical exemptions are no longer allowed.
Between the 2019 and 2020 school years, Ms. Breen falsely registered that she had administered 12,449 shots across 1,452 children, averaging roughly eight shots per child. Notably, this did not include COVID-19 shots, as it predated the pandemic.
The children’s parents “sought out and paid Breen related to their children’s immunizations and immunization records,” according to Erin Clary, a public information officer with New York’s health department. However, the parents weren’t the subject of the state’s investigation.
In total, the state requires up to 42 doses, including booster shots, from pre-K through grade 12. Failure to comply with these requirements results in children being excluded from schools.
The required shots include 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 other vaccines as specified by New York State.
Instead of these shots, Ms. Breen gave the children homeopathic pellets taken orally that were supplied by an out-of-state homeopath, according to the department. The pellets are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for immunization.
Schools to Exclude and Report on Noncompliant Children
The state has voided the immunization records of the nearly 1,500 children and informed some 300 different schools, mostly on Long Island, that they must “exclude students” from classrooms until their shots are considered “in process.”Students must be fully up to date with “all age-appropriate immunizations” or otherwise have started to get them.
“To be considered ‘in process,’ children must have received at least the first dose of all required vaccine series and must receive subsequent vaccines within no more than 14 days of when they are due for the next dose in each immunization series (pursuant to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) dosing recommendations),” the department said.
“Children who are more than 14 days past due for the subsequent dose of any required vaccine are NOT considered in process and must be excluded.”
Furthermore, the schools have been instructed to report any non-compliant students to the local health department.
State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa accused Ms. Breed of endangering students.
“By intentionally falsifying immunization records for students, this licensed health care professional not only endangered the health and safety of our school communities but also undermined public trust,” Ms. Rosa said.
According to the state health department, Ms. Breen provided the “real immunity homeoprophylaxis program,” marketed as an alternative to vaccination, to school-aged patients.
“Misrepresenting or falsifying vaccine records puts lives in jeopardy and undermines the system that exists to protect public health,” the state’s health commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. “Let it be clear, the New York State Department of Health takes this issue seriously and will investigate and use all enforcement tools at its disposal against those who have been found to have committed such violations.”
Ms. Breen signed a stipulation and order agreeing to the penalty after state authorities found she had violated the immunization registry law.
Ms. Breen’s lawyer, David Ekew, told NBC News that his client “fully cooperated” once informed of the investigation.
“She paid the fine, entered into the stipulation of settlement, and intends to fully comply with the requirements of the agreement. From her perspective, this matter is over, done with, and closed, and she is now moving on with her life,” Mr. Ekew said.
As part of the unprecedented settlement, Ms. Breen is permanently banned from accessing the New York State Immunization Information System, prohibited from administering reported vaccinations, and must avoid schemes misrepresenting immunization status.
