Former NYC Covid czar dismissed after admitting this forbidden act
Dr. Jay Varma was terminated from SIGA Technologies after admitting to attending prohibited gatherings during NYC's lockdown.
Ex-New York City’s Covid czar was fired on Monday after the pharmaceutical executive confessed he was present at “private gatherings” which were forbidden during the pandemic’s peak. As stated in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Dr Jay Varma was terminated effective immediately by the board of directors at SIGA Technologies, citing “other than for cause”.
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NYC Covid czar fired
Varma who held the position of company’s executive vice president and chief medical officer was also part of the board of directors, according to the filing. In a recent development, it was revealed that he was attending sex and dance properties while New York City was in lockdown as he promoted strict safety measures.
The policies curated by Varma for NYC gained nationwide traction when Kyrie Irving, a star player for the Brooklyn Nets, was banned from playing basketball after he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. At the time, he was a senior public health adviser under former Mayor Bill de Blasio and played a key role in the city’s vaccine strategy.
The truth about him attending parties during lockdown was revealed after a conservative podcaster conducted a sting operation on him last week, as reported by NBC News.
Varma’s defence on the matter
Varma’s spokesperson previously defended him in a statement where he said the videos were “spliced, diced and taken out of context” but did not explain exactly how. Interestingly, he did not contend about the authenticity of the videos.
The clips revealed Varma describing him and his wife attending a “sex party” in 2020 with 10 or more people and an indoor dance party in 2021 which had more than 200 people in attendance. He described the 2020 event as “just being naked with friends” in the recordings.
New York City had increased the limit of people at outdoor gatherings from 200 to 500 people during the occurrence of the second event. Varma defended himself as he said, “I served in City Hall between April 2020 — May 2021,” Varma said in the statement. “During that time, I participated in two private gatherings. I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time.”