The state of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a press conference on September 08, 2020 in New York City.
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The New York Attorney General is investigating whether a health care clinic in the state misled Covid vaccine doses and distributed them to the public, Gov. Andrew Cuomo Monday.
Cuomo declined to provide details of the investigation as it is ongoing, but noted that it includes ParCare Community Health Network, which the state has identified as a provider in Orange County, New York. York. Parcare reportedly misrepresented the state health department to receive vaccine doses, Cuomo said.
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement released over the weekend that the clinic may have “gone awry [the vaccine] for members of the public – going against the state plan to administer it first to frontline health care workers, as well as nursing home residents and employees. “
Because doses of the vaccine are so scarce, states are limiting the filters out to specific priority groups before they become more widely available.
ParCare did not immediately return CNBC’s request for comment, but the clinic he said on Twitter that it will “actively cooperate” with the New York State Department of Health.
It is among the first cases of fraud related to Covid vaccines, but it does not appear to be the last, Cuomo said, adding that fraud involves valuable products “no is an inevitable work of human nature. “
“We want to send a clear signal to the providers that if you find a breach of the law on these vaccines, we will find out and prosecute you,” Cuomo said Monday at a news conference. see more and more of this. The vaccine is a valuable product and you have a lot of people who want the vaccine. “
New York State Police have been conducting a criminal investigation, Cuomo noted, and will refer the case to New York AG Letitia James, whose office did not return CNBC’s request for comment.
To send a clear signal to potential vaccine scofflaws, Cuomo said he will sign an action order Monday outlining the impact it will have on deceiving the state when it comes to vaccine distribution. He said the state can fine violators of up to $ 1 million and the state will revoke the health care provider’s permission to operate in New York.
“We’re really bad about this,” he said. “We will find out and it is not worth endangering your consent, as well as possible civil and criminal punishment. “
Cuomo described the penalties as “the harshest in the country,” adding that New York is taking a “hyper-cautious, hyper-vigilant” approach.
“Our penalties are in place. Our defenses are in place, but when you deal with thousands of people, and hundreds of organizations, and valuable goods, a level of fraud is expected,” Cuomo said. “As sure as the night follows the day, people are going to beat the government.”
“I understand the value of one vial,” he said. “Some of those filters can make 10 vaccines. You could sell that same vial, so I understand the temple.”