NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Responding to a report by Talk of the Sound that Interim Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero instructed City Hall staff to lie about their eligibility to receive COVID-19 vaccine as part of an illegal program to distribute the Moderna vaccine at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital, a spokesperson for the City School District of New Rochelle issued a non-denial denial late last night.
A non-denial denial is “an on-the-record statement…repudiating a journalist’s story, but in such a way as to leave open the possibility that it is actually true.”
The New York State Department of Health called Montefiore’s actions an “egregious violation of the state’s clearly defined guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccine”.
“The facility is facing potential sanctions and penalties for these violations and its vaccine supply will be reallocated to the County Health Department,” said NYSDOH spokesperson Jonah Bruno.
The statement issued by the District is headlined “City School District of New Rochelle Corrects Community Misinformation Regarding Last Week’s Vaccination Plan”.
The actual statement is not corrective, merely repeating what has already been widely reported about how the program came to be without addressing the emails sent to staff by Dr. Marrero obtained by Talk of the Sound.
The full statement reads:
It is necessary for the City School District of New Rochelle to correct misinformation circulating among some in the community regarding planning last week for District staff members to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.
Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital told Interim Superintendent Alex Marrero that the District’s 1,800 staff members could receive the vaccine at the hospital. Marrero used information from hospital leadership to schedule, over several days, the phased distribution of the vaccine for District staff members.
Montefiore, however, then reversed itself and said vaccinations would not be provided. Montefiore told The Journal News/lohud.com that it “regrets any confusion about its lack of compliance with the state Department of Health’s vaccine rollout guidelines.”
Details about the sequence of events follow:
On January 6, the Westchester County Department of Health notified school district superintendents in the county that school nurses, speech therapists and occupational therapists could receive the vaccine. Dr. Marrero, that morning, alerted those employees. Later that day, Mayor Noam Bramson alerted Board of Education President Rachel Relkin that District staff could be vaccinated at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital. Relkin conveyed that to Dr. Marrero. He verified it with Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital Vice President and Executive Director Tony Alfano.
On Thursday, January 7, Dr. Marrero received confirmation from Montefiore that vaccinations would be available, completed a vaccination schedule, and sent announcements to District staff and the community. Later, Montefiore rescinded its invitation to provide the vaccines.
The City School District of New Rochelle carefully followed the information it was given and had no reason to believe the multi-day plan to vaccinate its staff would be suddenly halted by Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital. With vaccines now available to teachers and education workers today, we look forward to facilitating all staff members accessing the vaccine.
The deliberately misleading conclusion to the statement claiming the City School District of New Rochelle “carefully followed the information it was given” appears intended to deflect responsibility for Marrero’s emails onto Montefiore New Rochelle Executive Director Anthony Alfano who is identified as Marrero’s contact at Montefiore. The claim stands in stark contrast to a statement by the City of New Rochelle.
No one in the City government similarly directed employees not to register with New York State or misrepresent their eligibility to get the vaccine, according to a New Rochelle spokesperson.
Despite repeated claims over two days that a response to questions raised by Talk of the Sound over the weekend about Dr. Marrero’s instructions to staff would be forthcoming the statement provided last night is non-responsive to the deception orchestrated by Dr. Marrero.
In short, the City School District of New Rochelle is not denying that Dr. Marrero instructed employees to lie about their eligibility to deceive hospital workers and to not register with the New York State Department of Health to deceive state health workers.
We stand by our story.
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