Former Nassau Teacher Pleads; No Jail Time For Illegal Vax Of Teen

SEA CLIFF, NY — The Herricks High School science teacher who was facing a felony charge for injecting a teenager with a COVID vaccine has pleaded to avoid jail time, prosecutors say.

A video of Laura Parker Russo of Sea Cliff injecting her son's 17-year-old friend with an extra Johnson & Johnson vaccine at her home in 2021 went viral, and the 54-year-old biology teacher has since been fired, and charged with the unauthorized practice of medicine, a felony.

Russo pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge of attempted unauthorized practice of medicine and disorderly conduct on Friday, the Nassau County District Attorney (NCDA) confirmed.

“Based on the defendant’s long-standing ties to the community and her lack of a criminal record, the NCDA has agreed to this disposition. As part of the plea, the defendant is expected to perform 100 hours of community service and serve one year of probation. If those terms are met, the misdemeanor plea will be vacated," Brendan Brosh, a spokesperson for the DA's office, told Patch.

Under the conditions of the agreement, Russo is also required to attend therapy twice per week and avoid contacting the teenager.

The teenager's mother, Lisa Doyle of Glen Cove, told CBS News that she was glad that the judge in Friday's hearing, Judge Howard Sturim, rejected an original plea deal from Nassau, with only 50 hours of community service.

Doyle told Patch that she had mixed feelings about the deal.

"I don't think she needs to go to jail but I'm not happy that they treated it like she did nothing wrong."

If she completes the one-year probation as ordered, the misdemeanor charge will be vacated, allowing Russo to avoid a permanent criminal record.

Doyle was disappointed that the misdemeanor will be vacated, but says she's glad Herricks School District terminated Russo.

"I hope the state removes her teaching license . She doesn’t have the capacity to know right from wrong. Do I think she should be arounds kinds? Absolutely not."

Doyle isn't sure if she and her family will pursue a civil lawsuit, or if her son, now 18, would rather put the incident behind him and move on, she explained.

Russo's attorney, Gerard McCloskey, told Patch in May that prosecutors considered Russo's past and character when making the offer.

"I think that the D.A. took my client's past and her character into consideration in making this offer. She is a woman who offered her life to community service. She was involved in the Peace Corps... I think all of that was taken into account."

The Herricks School District told Patch that the district followed the recommendation of an arbitration process and voted to terminate Russo's employment.

Do you think the plea deal was fair? Let us know in the comments.