In the most head-tilting news of the week, a Long Island teacher has been arrested after allegedly injecting a student with the COVID-19 vaccination inside her home.
The teacher in question has been identified by Nassau County police as Laura Parker Russo. She's a 54-year-old biology teacher at Herricks Public Schools in New Hyde Park, New York, who reportedly gave the teen the vaccine on December 31, 2021.
The 17-year-old then went home and told his mother what happened, which resulted in Russo's arrested. She was charged with New York State Education Law Unauthorized Practice of a Profession.
There are seriously so many questions about what led to this reported occurrence. For starters, where did the teacher, who is not a medical professional, acquire the vaccine? Pfizer is the only vaccine currently approved for those under the age of 18, and it isn't known if it was, in fact, the Pfizer shot the boy was given.
Clearly, the mother hadn't authorized this bizarre transaction. The police department confirmed that much. But it seems that getting the vaccine may have been the teen's idea.
There is a video circulating on social media that shows the teacher injecting the teen with the shot. She smiles while you can hear a man say, "There you go, at-home vaccine." Still … so many questions.
It seems that the boy's mother may have not wanted him to get vaccinated. He obviously was trying to protect his health. As it stands, New York law prohibits minors from getting vaccinated without parental consent.
A New York bill, introduced by Democratic senators, proposes allowing teens who are at least 14 years old to get vaccinated by health care practitioners without their parents’ knowledge or consent. The minors who choose to get vaccinated would have to provide informed consent.
The bill points to many important findings, such as the World Health Organization listing the anti-vaccination movement as one of the top 10 threats to global health.
Still, this is clearly a violation of parents' rights. And not only that, it's potentially dangerous, as the vaccine could be corrupted. Plus, since the teacher is not a medical professional and doesn't have training in injecting people with vaccinations, it's all around a terrible judgment call that may end up impacting the rest of this woman's life.
