CLINIC’S VAX RETURN
Leftovers are sent back amid NY probe
A Brooklyn-based health-care company accused of fraudulently obtaining and doling out COVID-19 vaccines said Sunday that it had “proactively returned” its remaining stash of the shots amid a state probe.
In a prepared statement, ParCare insisted it followed all proper procedures to get the Moderna vaccines and was approved to administer the shots by both the state Department of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The company also 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.
On Saturday, state Health Department Commissioner Howard Zucker said the New York State Police was investigating allegations that ParCare “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.”
Zucker’s statement said the investigation involved ParCare’s clinic in Orange County, one of six it operates. The others are located in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
A company spokesperson said ParCare had administered 869 of 2,300 doses it received through an order placed by the Department of Health and had handed over the remainder to the state.
A copy of a packing slip provided to The Post shows that the vaccines were shipped directly to ParCare in Monroe, NY, in Orange County from a McKesson pharmaceutical-supply warehouse in Shepherdsville, Ky.
The Moderna vaccine is designed to be administered in two doses 28 days apart.
ParCare said, “We will do everything in our power to make sure that the state understands that our patients are our priority and that everyone receives their second dose accordingly.”
At the company’s clinic in Williamsburg on Sunday morning, a hand-lettered sign saying “NO Vaccines!!” was taped to the front door after The Post inquired if injections were available.
Mark Meyer Appel, who runs The Bridge Multicultural Advocacy Project in Brooklyn, told The Post that he got a shot there on Wednesday after learning the vaccine was available. Appel, 68, said he needed to be inoculated against COVID-19 because he has diabetes and operates a food pantry that puts him in contact with a lot of people.
New York state guidelines call for the first round of vaccines to go to frontline health-care workers and residents of long-termcare facilities.
ParCare CEO Gary Schlesinger reportedly told BoroPark24 that the company was giving shots to people who were “either a healthcare worker, are over 60 or have underlying conditions.”
A since-removed photo on Twitter, posted by the Rabbinical Alliance of America on Tuesday, showed Schlesinger receiving one of the highly coveted shots himself.
The state Department of Health said its investigation was ongoing but declined to comment further.