Nurse in Monroe County falsified vaccination records for over 100 kids

David Robinson, New York State Team

A fake school vaccination scheme left scores of children in Western New York unknowingly exposed to classmates without mandatory shots for serious diseases, including measles, polio and whooping cough.

The scam involved a Monroe County nurse practitioner, Sandra Miceli, who provided bogus school vaccination records to allow 116 unvaccinated students to attend schools and day cares across the state, with most of these kids located in Monroe County and Western New York, health officials said.

Regulators fined Miceli $55,000 and are contacting impacted schools. The 116 students involved in the scam must be up to date on all mandatory school vaccinations, or in the process of receiving their missing vaccinations, before they can return to school, health officials said.

As anti-vaccine sentiment rises, regulators in New York have targeted medical providers falsifying school vaccination records. This is the second school vaccine scam uncovered in 2024, joining a midwife's scheme centered on Long Island that impacted about 1,500 kids statewide.

How the fake school vaccine scam hit Monroe County

A nurse holds a vile of the Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccine at a health clinic in New York.
A nurse holds a vile of the Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccine at a health clinic in New York.

Regulators determined Miceli, who operated Surviving Naturally, a so-called natural wellness center” in the Rochester suburb of Webster, was found to have repeatedly violated the Immunization Registry Law.

Investigators found Miceli falsely reported a total of 546 vaccinations for 116 children who, at the time, were school-aged and younger. None of the fictitious vaccinations ever occurred, officials said.

The scheme began in the 2019-20 school year, just one month after New York repealed non-medical and religious exemptions to school vaccination in June of 2019.

State investigators also asserted Miceli had a long history of promoting misinformation about vaccines and vocally opposing immunization requirements, health officials said.

In posting anti-vaccination propaganda on social media, Miceli spread dangerous public-health falsehoods and sowed fear about vaccines at the same time that she claimed, as a nurse practitioner, to be protecting public health by administering immunizations required for enrollment in schools and day cares, health officials added.

Miceli did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions about the health officials investigation findings.

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Which school vaccinations were involved in the scam

The school-mandated immunizations that were part of the scheme included:

  • Diphtheria, tetanus toxoid-containing and pertussis vaccine (DTaP or Tdap).

  • Hepatitis B vaccine; measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR).

  • Polio vaccine; varicella (Chickenpox) vaccine; meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY); booster doses of MenACWY; and the Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (HiB)

  • Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) required for day care and pre-k only

Although not required for school enrollment and attendance, the scheme also included rotavirus vaccine, health officials said.

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What health officials say

As part of a settlement, Miceli has paid $30,000 of the $55,000 monetary penalty, health officials said. The remainder is suspended contingent upon Miceli achieving and maintaining full compliance with the Public Health Law, associated regulations, and all terms of the deal, which include:

  • Permanent exclusion from the New York State Immunization Information System, both directly or through anyone acting on her behalf.

  • Permanent prohibition from administering any immunization that must be reported to the state system.

“Falsifying school-aged children’s vaccine records endangers both the child and their peers, as vaccination is the best protection against preventable disease,” state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement.

“Furthermore, this is an example of how the spread of vaccine misinformation undermines the entire system that exists to protect the public’s health," he added.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Nurse falsified vaccination records for over 100 kids in Rochester NY

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