NEW YORK — Former New York City COVID Czar Dr. Jay Varma has been fired from his current job after confirming reports he attended sex parties and a rave when the pandemic was at its peak.
Varma has been let go as executive vice president and chief medical officer at SIGA Technologies. The news of his dismissal was revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.
Last week, Varma admitted to attending the parties after being caught on hidden camera video talking about it. They took place at a time when Varma was telling New Yorkers to stay away from others to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Varma's admission
Last week, Varma admitted he ignored the same COVID-19 policies he insisted New Yorkers follow during the pandemic.
Varma admitted he and his wife held two sex parties in a hotel with friends in August and November of 2020, and participated in a dance party with roughly 200 people in June, 2021 after he had left his position with the city and was working as a consultant. Varma's admission came after a heavily edited video was posted by conservative podcaster Steven Crowder.
In the same video, Varma also bragged about helping to put in place mandatory vaccination rules that prevented Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving from playing basketball after he refused to get the shot.
Varma's apology
Varma said the video was a result of his having been "targeted by an operative for an extremist right-wing organization determined to malign public health officials and take down the public health system in America."
"In those private conversations that were secretly recorded, spliced, diced, and taken out of context, I referred to events that transpired four years ago. I served in City Hall between April 2020 - May 2021. During that time, I participated in two private gatherings. I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time," Varma said in a statement. "Facing the greatest public health crisis in a century, our top priority was to save lives, and every decision made was based on the best available science to keep New Yorkers safe. I stand by my efforts to get New Yorkers vaccinated against COVID-19, and I reject dangerous extremist efforts to undermine the public's confidence in the need for and effectiveness of vaccines."
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