The pharmaceutical executive who was once New York City’s Covid czar was fired Monday, days after he admitted participating in “private gatherings” that were prohibited during the height of the pandemic, a federal filing shows. Varma was the company’s executive vice president and chief medical officer, the filing says. Varma acknowledged the prohibited gatherings after a conservative podcaster posted video last week of what appeared to be hidden camera recordings that showed Varma describing them. Varma's spokesman previously said that he was a part-time City Hall consultant at the time and that all participants were vaccinated. “I served in City Hall between April 2020 — May 2021,” Varma said in the statement.

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Persons: New York City’s, Jay Varma, Varma, Bill de Blasio’s, Irving, podcaster, “, ”, ” Varma Organizations: SIGA Technologies, Securities and Exchange Commission, Brooklyn Nets, Covid Locations: New York, New York City, City Hall