Former New York City COVID-19 response chief Dr. Jay Varma was fired from his job at SIGA Technologies after it was discovered he was involved in drug-fueled sex parties during the pandemic. Dr. Varma’s New York City COVID response drew national attention when Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving was banned for refusing to get vaccinated.
Dr. Varma, a former senior health adviser to former Mayor Bill de Blasio, reportedly bragged about attending and hosting underground raves while the city was under strict lockdown — confessions made public in secretly recorded conversations.
BREAKING: Former New York City coronavirus chief secretly hosted drug-fueled sex parties during a global pandemic, saying New Yorkers would be “outraged” if they found out because he was in charge of the city’s coronavirus response.
Dr. Jay Varma, former Senior Public Health Advisor to the Mayor of New York City… pic.twitter.com/YrgniDUdFc
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) September 19, 2024
On September 23, SIGA Technologies released a statement confirming Dr. Varma’s immediate dismissal, saying: “In accordance with the terms of his employment agreement, Dr. Varma’s role on our board of directors has also been terminated immediately and automatically.”
The scandal erupted last week when podcaster Steven Crowder released a clip of a candid discussion in which Dr. Varma said he’d “done all sorts of deviant things, sexual things,” and confessed to sneaking around for his role managing the city’s COVID response.
In the recorded conversation, Dr. Varma recounted a time in August 2020 when he hosted a party where participants used MDMA: “So we rented a hotel and… everybody was, you know, taking Molly, and there were eight or nine, eight to 10 of us in a room, and everybody was super hyped up, so it was a lot of fun.”
Dr Varma also recalled attending a rave in June 2021 that drew hundreds of attendees, and when asked if he regretted his actions he replied: “No, the truth is, I just like being myself.” Dr Varma hosted another gathering in November 2020, sources said.
City council member Inna Vernikov condemned Dr Varma’s actions, saying: “While grandmothers were dying alone in cold hospital beds, Dr Varma was fulfilling his sick fantasies with hundreds of sweaty strangers.”
Michael Caine, from Teachers for Choice, said he was disgusted “to hear Varma say that he was ‘oppressed’ by COVID-19 and that the drug-fueled group-sex orgy was a way for him to be his ‘true self'”.
Despite the uproar, sources close to Dr Varma defended him, saying “technically he has not violated any orders” and claimed his remarks had been quoted out of context.
Dr Varma himself released a statement, admitting to his actions, saying, “In private conversations which were secretly recorded, spliced together, chopped up and taken out of context, I referred to events which took place four years ago. Between April 2020 and May 2021, I attended two private gatherings. I take responsibility for not using my best judgment at the time.”
