The dramatic case of the midwife who replaced life-saving vaccines with homeopathic pills for 1,500 children

The New York State Department of Health fined a Nassau County midwife $300,000 for creating false vaccination records. The woman administered nearly 12,500 fake homeopathic pills to approximately 1,500 children instead of receiving standard life-saving vaccines , The Ministry of Health reported yesterday .

According to the report, approximately 1,500 school-age children across the state were affected, which caused the cancellation of their vaccination card. All affected children must be fully up to date on all age-appropriate vaccines, or in the process of receiving missing vaccines, before they can return to school, the agency reported.

“Misrepresentations or falsification of vaccination records put lives at risk and undermine the system that exists to protect public health. » said Dr. James McDonald, state health commissioner. “Let me be clear: The New York State Department of Health takes this matter seriously and will investigate and use all law enforcement tools at its disposal against those who have committed such violations.”

After an investigation carried out by the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Health, It was discovered that Jeanette Breen, a licensed midwife who operated Baldwin Midwifery in Nassau County had violated the Vaccination Registration Act in the US state of Breen, began providing oral pills to children at the start of the 2019-2020 school year, just three months after the state removed non-medical exemptions for standard school vaccines. He obtained the pellets from a homeopath outside New York and sold them as part of a series called the “True Immunity Homeoprophylaxis Program.”

The program falsely claimed to protect children from deadly infectious diseases covered by this country’s standard immunization programs , including diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (covered by DTaP or Tdap vaccine); Hepatitis B; measles, mumps and rubella (MMR vaccine); polio; varicella; meningococcal disease; Haemophilus disease influenza (HiB); and pneumococcal disease (PCV).

At New York, midwifery enables management of normal pregnancies, deliveries and postpartum care as well as primary preventive reproductive health care for essentially healthy women, and will include newborn screening, resuscitation and infant referral, the Ministry of Health noted in its statement.

Licensed midwives can obtain certification from the New York State Department of Education (SED) prescribe medications and order diagnostic tests as part of your practice and in a manner consistent with that. The department, which licenses midwives, has the authority to bring malpractice charges against Breen’s license. However, in accordance with the law, all information relating to the file is strictly confidential.

State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said “By intentionally falsifying student immunization records, this licensed healthcare professional not only endangered the health and safety of our school communities, but also undermined public trust. We are pleased to have worked with our government partners to bring this perpetrator to justice. “We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of health and wellbeing within our educational establishments. »

The vaccination plan began at the start of the 2019-2020 school year, just three months after the removal in June 2019 of non-medical exemptions for compulsory school vaccines. Breen provided patients with the “True Immunity Homeoprophylaxis Program” a series of oral granules marketed by a foreign homeopath as an alternative to vaccination. Homeopathic granules are not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the Department as an immunizing agent against any disease.

Breen administered 12,449 fake vaccines for around 1,500 school-aged patients and sent false information to the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS) indicating that these minors had been properly vaccinated.

Homeopathy is a pseudoscience that falsely claims that medical problems can be cured or prevented through extreme, ritualized dilutions of toxic substances that cause the same symptoms of a disease when administered directly. Homeopathic products are usually so diluted that they do not contain a single atom of the original substance. Some homeopaths claim that water molecules may have a “memory” of their contact with the substance, magically granting them healing powers. Homeopathic products do not work better than placebos, although if diluted incorrectly, They can be harmful and even fatal .

Already in 2022, the federal authorities California homeopath sentenced to nearly three years in prison for selling fake Covid-19 vaccination pills and for falsifying Covid-19 vaccination records. In New York, Breen’s plan began before the pandemic and did not include pills for the disease, which could save it from the attention of federal regulators.

It should be noted that these actions began before the Covid-19 pandemic and did not include the Covid vaccine. Vaccinations that were part of the schedule included: diphtheria vaccine, tetanus toxoid vaccine, and pertussis vaccine (DTaP or Tdap); hepatitis B vaccine; measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine; polio vaccine; varicella (chickenpox) vaccine; meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY); Booster dose of MenACWY; and Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (HiB) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) required only for daycares and pre-kindergartens. Although not mandatory for school registration and attendance, the plan also included flu and hepatitis A vaccinations. Here are the immunizations required by New York State for school enrollment and attendance.

In New York State, children attending daycare and preschool through grade 12 must receive all required vaccine doses in accordance with New York State’s school entry and attendance immunization requirements. to attend or stay in school. This includes all public, private and religious schools. We are allowed medical exemption when a child has a health problem that prevents them from receiving a vaccine.

The agreement between the department and Breen is the first of its kind regarding a system to create false vaccination records. It includes a fine of US$300,000 and requires that Breen will never again administer a vaccine that must be reported to NYSIIS. Additionally, Breen is permanently barred from accessing NYSIIS, regardless of the circumstances.

Research director Joseph Giovannetti said: “This enforcement action is the culmination of a first-of-its-kind investigation in which the Legal Affairs Division of the Department’s Bureau of Investigation worked with the Department’s subject matter experts to uncover a widespread scheme. falsifying required school vaccinations. Our thanks to the New York State Department of Education for their assistance. Anyone involved in vaccine fraud is vigilant: eradicating, combating and preventing all forms of vaccine fraud is a top priority for the Investigations Office. and we will continue to take enforcement action against all criminals who endanger the health of our communities and abuse our public health systems with this type of illegal activity.

The Department has removed all false vaccine information that Breen submitted to NYSIIS and is in the process of contacting all parents/guardians of affected children to inform them that their children’s vaccination records are no longer valid and do not meet New York’s school entry requirements. presence. These parents must ensure that their children receive all age-appropriate vaccines so that they can return to school.

In collaboration with the SED, the Ministry is also in the process of identifying and contacting all affected schools to inform them of this file, their required role and the next steps. The Ministry contacted around 300 affected schools. Schools must notify the parent/legal guardian that the child is excluded from school until they can provide proof that the child is in compliance.