Dr Varma, who previously served as a senior health adviser under former Mayor Bill de Blasio
Dr Jay Varma, the former COVID-19 czar of New York City, has been fired from his position at SIGA Technologies following the revelation of his involvement in drug-fuelled sex parties during the pandemic. Dr Varma's NYC COVID policies drew national attention when Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving was banned from playing for refusing vaccination.
Dr Varma, who previously served as a senior health adviser under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, was reported to have boasted about attending underground raves and hosting parties while the city was under severe lockdowns. These admissions were made public through secretly recorded conversations.
On September 23, SIGA Technologies issued a statement confirming Dr Varma's immediate termination, stating, “Pursuant to the terms of his employment agreement, Dr Varma's service on the Company's Board of Directors also automatically ended effective immediately”.
The scandal erupted last week when podcaster Steven Crowder released clips of Dr Varma's candid discussions, in which he said, “I did all this deviant, like sexual stuff,” and confessed to sneaking around due to his role in managing the city's COVID response.
In one recorded conversation, Dr Varma recounted hosting a party in August 2020 where attendees used MDMA: “So we rented a hotel … we all took, like, you know, molly and like it was like eight or nine or us, eight to 10 of us were in a room and everybody had a blast because everybody was like so pent up.”
Dr Varma also recalled attending a June 2021 rave with hundreds of attendees, and when asked if he regretted his actions, he replied, “No, actually, I'm like, I love being my authentic self.” A source revealed that Dr Varma hosted another gathering in November 2020.
City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov condemned Dr Varma's actions, stating, “While grandmothers took their last breaths alone on cold hospital beds, Dr Varma was fulfilling his sick fantasies with hundreds of sweaty strangers.”
Michael Kane of Teachers for Choice said he was disgusted “hearing Varma say having drug-fuelled group sex orgies was necessary for him to be his ‘authentic self' because COVID had him ‘pent up.'”
Despite the uproar, a source close to Dr Varma defended him, claiming that “he technically didn't violate the mandate” and that his statements were taken out of context.
Dr Varma himself issued a statement acknowledging his actions, saying, “In those private conversations that were secretly recorded, spliced, diced and taken out of context, I referred to events that transpired four years ago. Between April 2020 – May 2021, I participated in two private gatherings. I take responsibility for not using the best judgement at the time.”