Former COVID-19 Czar Jay Varma On Indefinite Leave From SIGA Technologies

Jay Varma admits holding parties while asking the public to follow COVID-19 restrictions in New York City

September 23, 2024

Last week SIGA Technologies announced that “Jay K Varma began an indefinite leave of absence from his positions as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer…and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company.” The statement did not say whether the company asked Varma to go on leave or if he decided to do so.  

During 2020 and 2021, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, several officials in major democracies asked the public to obey strict masking, social distance, and other safety procedures while they privately ignored these very rules. Such officials included then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and California governor Gavin Newsom. 

Last week, news outlets in the United States reported about similar double-standards followed by Varma. He was the medical official in charge of New York City’s response to the pandemic. Varma was caught on a hidden camera boasting about having drug-fueled sex parties during the pandemic, according to The New York Post.

“I had to be kind of sneaky about it … because I was running the entire COVID response in the city,” Varma was filmed telling an unidentified woman, the newspaper added. The woman was an “undercover operative” for conservative podcaster Steven Crowder’s “Mug Club”, who posted the video of Varma’s recording last week.

Varma also attended a dance party during the height of the pandemic, The New York Times reported. “He acknowledged his transgressions…after being caught on hidden camera boasting about his exploits,” according to The Times.

Varma was New York’s COVID czar from April 2020 to May 2021. Then, for two years, he was a Professor and Director of the Center for Pandemic Prevention at the Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York.

Currently Varma is employed by SIGA Technologies, a New York based pharmaceutical company whose lead product is a drug to treat smallpox in humans. SIGA, which has a market value of $600 million, paid Varma a total compensation of $670,000 in 2023. Varma also owns SIGA shares worth about $370,000.

Earlier, from 2011 to 2017, Varma was New York City’s Deputy Commissioner for Disease Control. He directed the public health laboratory and all infectious disease control programs, including HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, vaccine-preventable diseases, and general communicable diseases.

Varma’s division employed more than 1,100, had an annual budget of over US$ 350 million, and operated 17 clinical facilities. He built new programs for hepatitis C, advanced molecular diagnosis, and data management, and served as incident commander for nine city-wide emergencies.

From 2001 to 2011, he was at the U.S. Center for Disease Control’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, working on foodborne diseases. He served in Bangkok and Beijing. A Captain in the US Public Health Service, he has received the two highest awards in the department.

Varma was a Senior Advisor for strategy and implementation to Africa CDC, in surveillance, supporting emergency preparedness and response, information systems, laboratory systems, and workforce development. He has authored 126 scientific manuscripts, six essays, and one book. Varma speaks fluent English and basic conversational Mandarin.

Varma completed medical school, 1997, internal medicine residency, and chief residency at the University of California, San Diego. He earned a BS in history and science from Harvard University, 1993.

During the pandemic, Varma wrote about the importance of masking, vaccines, and social distancing, He admitted New Yorkers would have been “pissed” if they had found out at the time about his breaking the rules he was asking them to follow.  

Varma said in a statement, “I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time.” Will SIGA Technologies continue to employ Varma after his indefinite leave of absence ends?