A New York teacher has been arrested after reportedly administering a 17-year-old boy a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine despite not being legally allowed to do so and lacking parental consent. NBC News reported that Laura Russo, 54, was arrested on New Year’s Eve in Sea Cliff, New York, for allegedly giving the shot to the unnamed teenager.
“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,” NBC News reported. “It is unclear how she came to obtain the vaccine.”
As a result, Russo has been charged under the New York State Education Law Unauthorized Practice of a Profession.
In a video obtained by NBC 4, Russo can be seen allegedly giving the anonymous student an injection:
“There you go, at home vaccine”. Police have arrested a Long Island mother for illegally giving a 17 year old boy a shot of Covid vaccine in her home. And there’s video….Only on @NBCNewYork #nbc4ny pic.twitter.com/KpG5vAQaDT
— Pei-Sze Cheng (@PeiSzeCheng4NY) January 3, 2022
One Twitter user observed that the situation was “all kinds of scary.”
“This isn’t a question of whether to vax or not vax. He’s underage, it’s not her kid, she is not a licensed medical professional, that vaccine is NOT authorized for kids his age,” Donna Cordova continued. “Where did she even get ahold of that vial? What if he had had a reaction?”
All kinds of scary. This isn’t a question of whether to vax or not vax. He’s underage, it’s not her kid, she is not a licensed medical professional, that vaccine is NOT authorized for kids his age. Where did she even get ahold of that vial? What if he had had a reaction? dc https://t.co/sSw6ZjrEUS
— Donna Cordova (@DonnaCordova) January 4, 2022
Mount Sinai South Nassau Dr. Aaron Glatt told NBC4 that “[b]esides being illegal, it’s just not a smart thing to do. An authorized, licensed professional should be providing vaccines to know how to give them properly to make sure if there’s a complication that can be dealt with immediately and very efficiently.”
According to local media, the 17-year-old asked for the vaccine from Russo after his mother refused to give her permission to receive the jab. After the incident occurred, the boy told his mother Russo had administered the injection, and she told authorities.
Russo is a science teacher with Herricks Public Schools in New Hyde Park, New York, but has been “taken out of the classroom” while the investigation is pending. She is scheduled to appear in court on January 21.
Russo is not the first teacher to assist a student in receiving the vaccine without parental consent. In December, The Daily Wire reported that a California teacher had given free pizza in exchange for getting vaccinated, though she was not the one injecting the shot:
A California mom said her 13-year-old son was vaccinated against COVID-19 without her consent after someone at the school offered him food to get the shot.
Maribel Duarte, whose son is a student at the Barack Obama Global Prep Academy in South Los Angeles, told NBC 4 Los Angeles that her son brought home a vaccine card from school after he agreed to get inoculated in exchange for pizza.