A former New York high school teacher who allegedly injected a teen with a COVID-19 vaccine without his parents’ consent got a slap on the wrist Friday after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge.
Laura Russo, 55, pleaded guilty to the unauthorized practice of medicine and disorderly conduct and was subsequently sentenced to 100 hours of community service under interim probation, Fox News reported. The court also ordered Russo to undergo therapy twice a week and to stay away from the victim, the outlet added.
Prosecutors agreed to the plea “based on the defendant’s long-standing ties to the community and her lack of a criminal record,” Fox News reported.
A former Long Island high school teacher accused of injecting a teen with a COVID-19 vaccine at her home pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to community service and probation, avoiding a felony charge that could have sent her to prison. https://t.co/ctIjgGQzJR
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) December 18, 2022
Russo was arrested in January following reports that she had administered a COVID-19 vaccine to a 17-year-old teen in her home without his parents’ permission. The teen victim went home and informed his mother, who called the police. (RELATED: Sweden Halts Approved COVID-19 Vaccine Use For People Under 30)
“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
Russo was a science teacher at Herricks Public Schools on Long Island before she was fired over the incident, Fox News reported. At a hearing regarding her position with the school, she testified that she had obtained the vaccine from a pharmacist who gave her expiring doses after she asked for an empty vial to use as a Christmas ornament, according to The Buffalo News.
If Russo meets the community service requirement of her sentence, prosecutors will remove the misdemeanor charge from her record, Fox News noted.