Slapped on the wrist for misrepresenting homeopathic nosodes as vaccines

In the days before the pandemic—or, as I like to call it, the beforetime—I remember a law passed in California in 2015 known as SB 277. You might remember that this law eliminated nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates. You might also recall that antivaxxers fought this law tooth and nail when it was just a bill being considered in the wake of the Disneyland measles outbreak. You might even recall that, when the bill passed and became law anyway, antivax pediatricians soon pivoted to setting up a cottage industry to write letters endorsing dubious, unsupported medical exemptions for their patients that parents could—and did—submit in large numbers to their children’s schools in order to avoid having to vaccinate their children. You might even remember that Dr. Robert Sears (a.k.a. Dr. Bob) sold these exemptions, even online. You might also remember that naturopaths got in on the action, some even selling homeopathic nosodes as “vaccines.”

Let’s just say that I haven’t seen a story like this one in quite a while, which, oddly enough, I found on Threads rather than X, the Hellsite Formerly Known as Twitter:

Let’s go to the story:

Hundreds of parents across New York state who thought they got their kids’ routine vaccinations are learning Thursday that may not be the case, a day after the health department announced a $300,000 penalty against a Nassau County midwife who officials say falsified immunization records. 

According to the investigation, Jeanette Breen, a licensed midwife who operated Baldwin Midwifery in Nassau County, was found to have administered 12,449 fake immunizations to roughly 1,500 school-aged patients as pretext for submitting false information to the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS), health officials said. 

Those fake immunizations were administered before the COVID-19 pandemic so do not include vaccinations for that virus. They do, however, include fraudulent diphtheria, tetanus toxoid-containing and pertussis vaccines (DTaP or Tdap); hepatitis B vaccines; measles, mumps and rubella vaccines (MMR); polio vaccine; varicella (Chickenpox) vaccines; meningococcal conjugate vaccines (MenACWY); booster doses of MenACWY; and the Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines (HiB) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV).

Some kids were given fake vaccines for flu and hepatitis A also, though those immunizations are not required for school attendance.

It gets even “better.” I turns out that these fake vaccines sound as though they were very likely homeopathic nosodes, which are homeopathic remedies often claimed by quacks to be like vaccines:

Most of the affected children are from Long Island, though the alleged scheme reached as far as Erie County, officials say. It began at the start of the 2019-2020 school year, three months after non-medical exemptions were eliminated for school immunizations. Breen gave the children a series of oral pellets marketed by an out-of-state homeopath in lieu of vaccination, the investigation found. The pellets are not authorized by the FDA, nor approved by the CDC or the state.

According to The New York Times:

The oral pellets in question were marketed as an alternative to vaccination but were not authorized or approved by the federal government as a vaccine against any disease. Ms. Breen administered them as a substitute for vaccinations against hepatitis, diphtheria, polio, measles and other diseases, according to the authorities.

See what I mean when I said that this was most likely homeopathic nosodes? It’s been a while since I’ve written about them other than to mention that Aaron Rodgers tried to claim that he could use them to prevent COVID-19 instead of COVID-19 vaccines, but the word nosode comes from the Greek nosos, or disease; nosodes are a specific type of homeopathic treatment claimed to prevent disease. Regular readers will likely be familiar with the principles of homeopathy and its laws, which include the Law of Similars and the Law if infinitesimals. The Law of Similars is often paraphrased as “like cures like” and states that to cure a disease or relieve a symptom, you treat the patient with something that causes that symptom or disease. (You can probably already see where this is going with homeopathic nosodes, but bear with me a moment.) There is, of course, no scientific basis for a general rule or “Law” that using something that causes a symptom or disease will relieve a symptom or cure a disease. Homeopathy’s founder Samuel Hahneman made that up based on late 18th century beliefs about medicine and how the human body worked.

The Law of Infinitesimals states that dilution makes a remedy stronger. The Law of Infinitesimals is even less plausible or supported by evidence.I also find it the easiest to explain to the uninitiated why this “law” is utter bunk. In brief, the Law of Infinitesimals states that homeopathic remedies become stronger with dilution. Indeed, the process of making a homeopathic remedy involves serial dilution, usually 1:100. The mother tincture (or original compound or medicine) is diluted 1:100 and then shaken vigorously (succussed), the succussion step being claimed by homeopaths to be absolutely essential to “potentize” the remedy. After that, the remedy is diluted again in the same way. Each 1:100 dilution is designated by “C”, such that a 6C dilution equals six 1:100 dilutions. The problem comes with the higher dilutions. For instance, a 12C solution is on the order of a 10^-24 dilution ((10^-2)¹² = 10^-24). Many homeopathic remedies are on the order of 30C, which is a 10-60 dilution, or more than 10³⁶-fold greater than Avogadro’s number. Some homeopathic remedies go up to 100C or more, or 10^-200. Here’s a hint: The number of atoms in the known universe is estimated to be around 10⁷⁸ to 10⁸². The math just doesn’t work, and remedies over around 12C are basically water. “Lesser” dilutions contain so little remedy that it’s highly unlikely that they have a pharmacological effect. How do homeopaths explain this? They then concede that there isn’t any actual remedy left in the “stronger” homeopathic dilutions, but that water retains the “memory” of the substance that it had been in contact with.

So you get the idea. A homeopathic nosode is a homeopathic remedy made from (allegedly) material from diseased tissue diluted until there is nothing left, and then claimed to be able to treat or prevent that disease because the water retains the memory of the disease that had come into contact with it.

As is the case with nearly every post that I write that deconstructs homeopathy, I will include this video of Richard Dawkins, who, whatever you think of his other views (and I don’t think much of a lot of them), did produce the best two-minute explanation of why homeopathy is nonsense:

When Dawkins mentions that homeopaths “boldly paddle further up the creek of pseudoscience,” I can’t help but mention an example of a homeopathic nosode that I wrote about years ago, namely a homeopathic nosode against rabies that was claimed to have been made from the saliva of a rabid dog. I kid you not. Veterinary quacks sell it. (Google Lyssin if you don’t believe me. It’s even sold on Amazon.com as a veterinary rabies preventative.) Again, the idea behind nosodes is to take infectious material from someone suffering from an infectious disease, homeopathically dilute it to nonexistence, and then claim that it prevents that disease. I’ve even seen a homeopathic remedy purported to be made from COVID-19 vaccines that supposedly cures “vaccine injury.”

I had one thought (actually several) reading this story, starting with: So. Many. Questions. First, what is a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) doing administering childhood vaccinations in the first place? Actually, that’s not so surprising. A CNM is an advanced practice nurse with training in midwifery; so presumably Breen could also function as a nurse and advanced practice nurse. I note that the scope of practice for CNPs, as stated by the American College of Nurse-Midwifes, includes a fair amount of primary care:

Midwifery as practiced by certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) encompasses the independent provision of care during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period; sexual and reproductive health; gynecologic health; and family planning services, including preconception care. Midwives also provide primary care for individuals from adolescence throughout the lifespan as well as care for the healthy newborn during the first 28 days of life. Midwives provide care for all individuals who seek midwifery care, inclusive of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Midwives provide initial and ongoing comprehensive assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. They conduct physical examinations; independently prescribe medications including but not limited to controlled substances, treatment of substance use disorder, and expedited partner therapy; admit, manage, and discharge patients; order and interpret laboratory and diagnostic tests; and order medical devices, durable medical equipment, and home health services. Midwifery care includes health promotion, disease prevention, risk assessment and management, and individualized wellness education and counseling. These services are provided in partnership with individuals and families in diverse settings such as ambulatory care clinics, private offices, telehealth and other methods of remote care delivery, community and public health systems, homes, hospitals, and birth centers.

I also note that the same group states:

The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) affirms that all individuals and families should have access to accurate, evidence-based information regarding the role of immunizations in the prevention of disease so they can make informed choices about the use of vaccinations for themselves and their families. Although ACNM respects the rights of individuals to make their own choices regarding immunization, the organization actively endorses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations and guidelines on evidence-based practice in the administration of vaccinations in pregnancy and prevention of communicable diseases.

Of course, belief in quackery—like homeopathy, a.k.a. The One Quackery To Rule Them All (except possibly when reiki vies for the throne)—nearly always goes hand-in-hand with antivax beliefs.

There are three things that bug me about some of these stories, and it’s this. The first is this, per the NYT:

The authorities said that it appeared that many of the parents knew their children were not being vaccinated. “The scheme suggests that the persons in parental relation to the affected children sought out and paid Breen related to their children’s immunizations,” a spokeswoman for the Health Department, Erin Clary, wrote in an email.

Of course. Anyone who pays attention to the antivax movement knows that, almost certainly, all of the parents bringing their children to Breen knew that their children were not being vaccinated. That was the point. They were paying to have her tell the state that she had vaccinated their children, so that they could avoid school vaccine requirements. I suppose it’s possible that a handful of the parents didn’t know, but I find it difficult to believe that any of them were not complicit and didn’t know exactly what they were getting from Breen.

The second part is in the NBC 4 New York story:

Erin Clary, a health department spokesperson, said Thursday that while parents and legal guardians had sought out and paid Breen for her services, they weren’t the focus of the agency’s investigation.

They should be. The parents were trying every bit as much as Breen to violate New York State law. I’ll cite an extreme example. The person seeking out a hit man is just as guilty of murder as the hit man is. Again, these parents knew what they were doing. They were complicit in endangering the children at the schools where their children attended class.

Finally, there is this, which was mentioned above in the Threads thread. (Hmmm. That’s the first time I realized that threads in Threads doesn’t sound right…)

Per the NYT again:

The Health Department said that Ms. Breen had already paid $150,000 of the $300,000 penalty, and that the remainder of the fine would be suspended if she abided by certain terms, including a prohibition on administering vaccines or participating in any schemes to misrepresent vaccination records.

And per NBC New York again:

The agreed-upon settlement reached between the state and Breen is the first of its kind addressing a scheme to create false immunization records, authorities said. It includes a $300,000 monetary penalty and requires that Breen never again administer a vaccination that must be reported to the state’s database. She is also permanently forbidden from accessing that database for any reason. 

Breen declined to comment Thursday. Her attorney, David Eskew, said in a statement that his client “intends to fully comply with the requirements of the agreement.” She had no additional comment regarding the settlement.

“Ms. Breen has provided excellent midwifery services for many years to many families, especially on Long Island,” the attorney’s statement read. “From her perspective, this matter is over, done with, and closed and she is now moving on with her life. She has no comment about the settlement or the conduct beyond what is contained in the settlement stipulation with the Department of Health.”

As part of the settlement, Breen has paid $150,000 of the $300,000 penalty, with the remainder suspended contingent upon her complying with state health laws and never again administering any immunization that must be reported to the state, according to the health department. She’s also permanently banned from accessing the state’s immunization records system.

Oh, and she promises never, ever to do it again:, and if she never does it again she won’t have to pay the full fine:

The remainder of the fine will be suspended if Breen complies with certain stipulations, including refraining from administering immunizations and not participating in any scheme or attempt to misrepresent immunization records, the release said.

Wait, what? Breen committed health fraud, without a doubt, by selling homeopathic nosodes instead of vaccines and then reporting that she had appropriately immunized the children to whom she gave the nosodes, and the only penalties that she suffered are a fine (part of which can be suspended) and conditions imposed by the health department that she never again administer any immunization or access the state’s immunization records system? She knowingly deceived state public health authorities for money, endangering children by given them fake homeopathic vaccines. Remember, some of those children might grow up not to be antivax and think that they were appropriately vaccinated against childhood diseases when in fact they were not. She should have lost both her nursing license and her license to practice midwifery.

Remember how I’ve long bemoaned how toothless state medical boards and law enforcement are when it comes to dealing with quacks? The same, it would appear, is true of nursing and midwifery boards, as well as the New York State Department of Health. How is it that Breen wasn’t hauled before her state board and stripped of her license. Personally, I would ritually burn it in front of her and scatter the ashes at her feet. This woman should not be in any position to provide healthcare for patients. She is an irredeemable antivax quack. If you want to know why state health authorities failed so miserably in reining in medical misinformation and COVID-19 related quackery during the pandemic, this is just another example of the preexisting systemic rot that explains why.