State fines Long Island neurosurgeon Dr. Salvatore Palumbo for falsely claiming to vaccinate his child

The state Department of Health has fined a West Islip neurosurgeon $22,000 and barred him from administering pediatric vaccines after he claimed to have given vaccines to a child but never did, according to state investigators.

The physician, Dr. Salvatore Palumbo, co-owner of Long Island Brain & Spine, agreed to the settlement with the state, but in an interview denied the charges. He said the child in question was his 4-year-old son, and he did administer the vaccines to him.

The health department said in the legal stipulation that Palumbo registered Long Island Brain & Spine with the state’s electronic immunization system in August to create a "false immunization history" so the child, who'd never been vaccinated, could enroll in preschool.

He then "created a false paper trail for the vaccinations" by ordering 11 state-mandated vaccines — including those against measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria and polio — and then "disposed of the vaccines, unused."

"None of the fictitious immunizations ever occurred," the state said in a statement.

A school nurse alerted the state to the potential falsification, the health department said in a statement, adding that "it is not common for a brain and spine surgeon to administer pediatric vaccines."

"At a time when vaccine science is under attack, the New York State Department of Health leads the fight against vaccination fraudsters whose misguided and patently illegal conduct endangers the health and safety of our communities," state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement.

McDonald approved the stipulation between the state and Palumbo on Feb. 26. The $22,000 fine is the maximum possible for 11 falsified records.

But Palumbo said he only signed the stipulation to avoid criminal prosecution. "They said, ‘If you don’t sign it, you’re going to face criminal charges tomorrow,’" he said.

The stipulation says the state would not refer the case to authorities for criminal charges.

Although the stipulation says the child’s parents "oppose vaccines" — the state did not identify the child as Palumbo’s son, for privacy reasons — Palumbo said, "I’m pro vax."

His three adult children all were vaccinated, he said.

"There are a lot of deadly diseases out there, and I want my kids vaccinated," he said.

Palumbo said he opted to vaccinate his own child because his son’s pediatrician is in Manhattan.

"Basically it’s a record-keeping issue," said Palumbo’s Syosset attorney, James Mermigis. "I guess that they thought it was a little strange that he was going to give vaccines to his child, and some of the [vaccine] dates were off. That’s it."

The health department said state law prohibited it from disclosing evidence beyond what is on its public website.

The stipulation does not prevent the department’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct, which investigates allegations of physician wrongdoing, from conducting its own probe and a medical conduct board from taking its own actions, which can range from warnings to license revocation.

OPMC investigations are confidential, but disciplinary actions are public. None against Palumbo are listed on the medical conduct board's website. Palumbo and Mermigis said OPMC has not contacted them.

Palumbo said the state had initially wanted him to admit guilt in the stipulation, but he resisted. The stipulation says in part: "To resolve this administrative matter, Respondents admit to the existence of substantial evidence of violation of" state law.

Besides his position at Long Island Brain & Spine, which has offices in West Islip and Smithtown, Palumbo is chief of neurosurgery at Catholic Health’s Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip. Catholic Health said in a statement: "Good Samaritan University Hospital takes matters of this nature seriously and is reviewing the information to determine appropriate next steps."

Ensuring the accuracy of vaccine records is critical in protecting children from potentially dangerous diseases, said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Medicine.

"Your child who is not vaccinated puts themselves at risk and the entire school building at risk," especially children and school staff with weakened immune systems, including those on chemotherapy and biologic and high-dose steroid treatments, she said. Those people are at particularly high risk for severe cases of vaccine-preventable diseases, including some, like measles, that are easily spread in a school building, she said.

The action against Palumbo is the latest from the health department aimed at combating vaccination fraud. The department is pursuing charges of pediatric immunization fraud against former Amityville nurse practitioner Julie DeVuono, who in 2023 pleaded guilty to falsifying COVID-19 vaccine records. In 2024, the health department fined former Baldwin midwife Jeanette Breen for falsifying vaccine records.

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com@DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.