Midwife fined $300,000 for falsifying the vaccine records of hundreds of school-aged children

By Amy Simonson and Maria Sole Campinoti, CNN

(CNN) — A Nassau County midwife was issued a $300,000 fine for creating false immunization records for approximately 1,500 school-aged children throughout New York state.

The vaccine scheme began at the start of the 2019-2020 school year, three months after the June 2019 elimination of non-medical exemptions for required school vaccinations, according to a New York State Department of Health news release Wednesday.

Jeannette Breen, a licensed midwife who operated Baldwin Midwifery, supplied children with a series of homeopathic oral pellets instead of the required vaccinations, and then falsified their immunization records, the health department release said.

The pellets, touted as an alternative to vaccination, are “not authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the Department” of Health as an immunization, according to the release.

Breen administered the pellets as a substitute for vaccines for diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, polio, rubella and other diseases, officials said.

“Breen was found to have administered 12,449 fake immunizations to roughly 1,500 school-aged patients as pretext for submitting false information to the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS),” the release said.

CNN reached out to Breen for comment.

The scheme, which included children from throughout the state, with the majority being from Long Island, resulted in their immunization cards being voided, according to the release.

“All affected children must be fully up to date with all age-appropriate immunizations, or be in the process of receiving their missing vaccinations, before they can return to school,” the release said.

Breen paid $150,000 of the agreed-upon $300,000 fine. The agreement “requires that Breen never again administer a vaccination that must be reported” to the New York State Immunization Information System and that she be permanently excluded from accessing it, according to the release.

The remainder of the fine will be suspended if Breen complies with certain stipulations, including refraining from administering immunizations and not participating in any scheme or attempt to misrepresent immunization records, the release said.

The New York State Education Department, which licenses midwives, “has the authority to pursue charges of professional misconduct against Breen’s license,” according to the release.

“By intentionally falsifying immunization records for students, this licensed health care professional not only endangered the health and safety of our school communities but also undermined public trust,” State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said in the statement.

State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald added that misrepresenting and falsifying vaccine records “puts lives in jeopardy.”

“Let it be clear, the New York State Department of Health takes this issue seriously and will investigate and use all enforcement tools at its disposal against those who have been found to have committed such violations,” McDonald said.

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