A New York teacher has been arrested for allegedly injecting a minor with a Covid-19 vaccine without the consent of his parents, police have said.
Laura Russo, 54, was arrested on New Year’s Eve in Sea Cliff after police were informed that she had allegedly injected a 17-year-old boy with a vaccine, the Nassau County Police department said in a news release on Monday.
According to the department, the 17-year-old boy had visited Russo’s home, where she administered what was believed to be a Covid vaccine to him. It is unclear how she came to obtain the vaccine.
Police said that the boy’s mother called the authorities after her son told her he had gotten the jab.
“The mother had not given permission or authority to have her son injected with a Covid vaccine,” the department said.
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Police said Russo is not a medical professional and is not authorized to administer vaccines.
She was placed under arrest without incident and has been charged with New York State Education Law Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, the department said.
The Nassau County School District told NBC News 4 that Russo has been reassigned from the classroom pending the outcome of the investigation into the allegations against her.
The school district said that the allegations were not related to the school she worked at, however, and noted that the incident did not occur on school property.
“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.
Russo declined to comment when approached by NBC News 4.
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