A Puerto Rico pharmacist has pleaded guilty to administering Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty) to children younger than 12, the Justice Department announced.
Liz Ann Banchs, the owner and president of Farmacia Gabriela, a pharmacy in Juana Díaz, pled guilty last week to “participating in a felony conspiracy to convert government property and to commit healthcare fraud in connection with the illegal vaccination of minors between the ages of 7 to 11 with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine,” the department said Tuesday in a press release. The vaccinations took place from approximately May 28 through June 22 and involved 24 children; Banchs submitted claims for the vaccinations to MC-21, Puerto Rico’s pharmacy benefit manager for Medicaid.
The FDA’s emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine does not cover children under 12; “as a result, the administration of the vaccine to children aged 7-11 represents an unauthorized and unlawful administration of the vaccine,” the release noted. “The … vaccine batches at issue were the property of the United States government and were illegally [used] without authority from the United States. Similarly, Farmacia Gabriela was not permitted to submit claims to MC-21 for the unlawful and unauthorized administration” of the vaccine.
The Puerto Rico Department of Health noticed the illegal vaccinations and suspended the pharmacy’s COVID-19 vaccination program. No serious medical consequences appear to have resulted from the vaccinations, and the money made from the vaccinations was returned to the federal government. In addition to pleading guilty, Banchs agreed to be excluded as a provider for Medicare, Medicaid, and all federal healthcare programs for 5 years.
“Pharmacists rank among the most trusted professionals,” W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for Puerto Rico, said in the release. “This individual used her special access to illegally vaccinate children under the age of 12 years old, putting their health at risk. The Department of Justice will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to ensure the public receives safe and effective vaccines.”
“HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners are committed to helping the country get through the COVID-19 public health crisis, but the safety of our citizens comes first, especially when we are dealing with keeping children safe,” said Scott Lampert, special agent in charge at the New York regional bureau of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “There are clear guidelines set forth by our nation’s public health agencies regarding who is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at this time. We will not stray from our mission to protect the public and the federal healthcare programs that serve them.”
Banchs faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release, the department said.