COVID-19: US teacher arrested for administering vaccination to teenager at home

A US teacher was arrested in Sea Cliff, New York on Wednesday for allegedly injecting a 17-year-old boy with a COVID-19 vaccine at her home without any medical qualification. Identified as Laura Parker Russo by Nassau County police, the Long Island teacher injected the vaccine into her student on 31 December. The boy reportedly later went home and complained to his mother, who reported the said teacher to the police. The woman was in no way qualified nor authorised to give her son the vaccine, the angry mother told the officers, as per the reports, adding that she is not a medical professional to have injected her son at her own will. 

Teacher charged under New York State Education Law Unauthorized Practice

The accused woman was arrested and charged with New York State Education Law Unauthorized Practice of a Profession. She was later released and is due for a court appearance on 21 January. CBS New York reported that the 54-year-old is a biology teacher who is now “removed from the classroom and reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation” with immediate effect. It remains unclear how Russo managed to get the vaccine for COVID-19. It is understood that the guidelines for inoculation may not have been properly adhered to, though there is no report whether the said boy was monitored for any side effects post-vaccination or was even asked for consent. 

At this time, the Biden administration has approved only the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to administer to youngsters under the age of 18. The vaccine, as per the company’s statement post clinical trials, is also deemed safe for children of ages 5 to 17. US CDC has pushed for kids to be vaccinated. "Widespread vaccination for COVID-19 is a critical tool to best protect everyone from COVID-19 and COVID-19 related complications,” the US health agency said on its website. But the teacher did not have the parents' consent to vaccinate the 17-year-old teen,  Nassau County Police department said in a news release. 

"The mother had not given permission or authority to have her son injected with a COVID-19 vaccine and called police," the police said. An investigation was ordered into the incident. The incident did not occur on school property, the district sources told USA Today, adding that the incident isn't related to the school where Russo was employed. “The individual in question is a district employee who has been removed from the classroom and reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation," the district said.