A Queens COVID-19 site systematically diluted vials of the life-saving Pfizer vaccine in order to dole out more doses, according to a new lawsuit filed by an employee claiming he was pushed out of the company after he started asking questions.
Jamie Zheng says Centers Urgent Care, the operator of the vaccine distribution site at Korean Community Services in Bayside, fired him after he learned of a policy to dilute the doses beyond the CDC’s recommendation.
“It makes me feel guilty,” said Zheng, 33, who ran the site from March to July of last year.
“Just thinking about the people waiting on line, mostly the Asian community. They were so excited. They want to get protected but in reality they’re getting a compromised dose.”
The CDC tells providers to mix a vial of Pfizer’s vaccine with 1.8 mL of a saline-based solution for adults. The lawsuit alleges Centers Urgent Care instructed distributors to mix with 1.9 mL, which allowed the company to squeeze seven shots out of each vial as opposed to six, the lawsuit claims.
Future deliveries of the vaccine from Pfizer were based on how many people the company had vaccinated in prior weeks, said Zheng, who sued in Queens Supreme Court .
Private providers who administer the shots are reimbursed for vaccinating individuals through insurance companies or Medicare.
Zheng is the second employee of Centers Urgent Care to sue over the alleged practice. Andrew Palazzo says in his suit filed last year that he was fired from his job administering the vaccines after raising similar objections as Zheng. He alleged 16,000 doses could have been diluted.
A court denied Palazzo’s bid last year for an order blocking the site from administering vaccines. Palazzo’s suit is ongoing and Centers Urgent Care has denied wrongdoing.
