US Science Teacher Arrested For Vaccinating Student
Police say New York school teacher Laura Russo administered the vaccine dose at her home, despite having no legal authorisation to give jabs
A science teacher in the US has been arrested after vaccinating a 17-year-old student, according to officials.
Police say New York school teacher Laura Russo administered the Covid-19 vaccine dose at her home, despite having no legal authorisation to give jabs.
Russo, who teaches biology, also had no consent from the teenager’s parents, while it is unclear how she came to obtain the vaccine.
Nassau County Police Department said in a press release that the 54-year-old educator was arrested on New Year’s Eve after police were informed she had allegedly given the vaccine to a male student who had visited her home.
The department said the boy’s mother contacted the authorities after her son told her he had received the jab, adding: "The mother had not given permission or authority to have her son injected with a Covid vaccine.”
Video footage shows Russo telling the youngster: "You'll be fine, I hope."
He says: "Here you go. At-home vaccine.”
According to police, the boy came home and told his parents what had happened, at which point they called the cops.
Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said: "She had obtained a vaccine.
"That's still under investigation on how she got it."
Police say Russo is neither a medical professional nor authorised to administer vaccines, and that she was placed under arrest without incident.
She has been charged with New York State Education Law Unauthorized Practice of a Profession.
NBC News 4 reports how, in the video, it is mentioned that the jab was a ‘Johnson and Johnson vaccine’, adding that the FDA has ‘reserved that for people 18 and up'.
Dr Fino Celano, Superintendent of Herricks High School, where Russo has been working, said she has been removed from the classroom.
A statement said: “The individual in question is a district employee who has been removed from the classroom and reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation.”
The Nassau County School District told NBC News 4 that the allegations were not related to the school she worked at, and noted that the incident did not occur on school property.
Russo is charged with unauthorised practice of a profession, with a court hearing scheduled for 21 January.
Featured Image Credit: NBCTopics: US News, Coronavirus
Jess Hardiman