New York teacher arrested after allegedly giving COVID-19 vaccine to teen

A New York biology teacher was arrested for allegedly administering a COVID-19 vaccine to a teenager in her living room.

Laura Parker Russo, a 54-year-old biology teacher, who has no medical qualifications, was arrested at her Sea Cliff, New York, home for allegedly inoculating a 17-year-old boy without parental permission. After allegedly receiving the dose, the teen went home and told his mother.

Police say the mother alerted them to the situation, and an investigation unfolded on New Year’s Day. It’s unclear if the teen was monitored post-shot, how Russo obtained the vaccine and which brand it was.

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.

Russo’s son is friends with the teenager, and when the two were at Russo’s home, the teenager reported that his mother didn’t want him to get vaccinated just yet, so Russo gave it to him, police officials told NBC New York.

“There you go, at-home vaccine,” the teenager said in the video after he was vaccinated. Police said Russo is not a medical professional and is not authorized to administer vaccines.