Kenney Tells Health Dept To Address Philly Fighting COVID Mess

Philadelphia PA

29 January, 2021

12:17 PM

Description

PHILADELPHIA — In the wake of the ongoing Philly Fighting COVID controversy, Mayor Jim Kenney has told the Philadelphia Department of Public Health it must take "corrective steps" to remedy the situation. The directives came Friday after a week's worth of controversy surrounding Philly Fighting COVID, led by 22-year-old Drexel student Andrei Doroshin, and its ties to coronavirus vaccination efforts in the city. In a letter to Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, Kenney said the Department of Public Health will be required to, among other directives, run clinics to fully vaccinate the nearly 7,000 people who got first doses through Philly Fighting COVID and to immediately allocate all first doses that had been previously allocated to Philly Fighting COVID to the other health care organizations currently administering vaccines, with a special focus on providing an enhanced number of doses to the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium. In the letter, Kenney expressed his gratitude for Farley and the public health department's work amid the pandemic but said the handling of Philly Fighting COVID was disappointing. "It is beyond question, and without doubt, that your steady leadership of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health during the COVID-19 pandemic has helped save thousands of Philadelphians' lives. Your guidance — grounded in science and data — is why Philly has the lowest per capita rate of new cases in the region," he said. "However, as we have discussed, I am disappointed by what has transpired with the organization Philly Fighting COVID. I know you share my concerns on how these events can cast a shadow on what is the most important project facing our city — vaccination." Additionally, Kenney is requiring the department to produce a public report in 30 days detailing how Philly Fighting COVID came to work with public health department in both testing and vaccination. The report must identify any and all weaknesses in the vetting process that could have prevented the present outcome and provide a set of intended improvements. Another retirement is the department must add Commerce Director Michael Rashid to any committee(s) constituted to review proposals to provide coronavirus testing or vaccination services in partnership with public health department. In addition to these steps, Kenney also reminded Department of Public Health employees that under Executive Order 7-14, which requires all officials and employees of the Executive Branch must report any knowledge, information or allegation brought to their attention that any person or entity may have engaged in waste, fraud corruption or abuse to the Office of the Inspector General. Additionally, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office is asking anyone who has information about what they believe to be crimes related to Philly Fighting COVID or any other pandemic relief efforts to contact the DA's Special Investigations Unit directly at [email protected] or 215-686-9608. Philly Fighting COVID started off with college students 3D printing PPE for local hospitals. The group then started offering coronavirus testing. Eventually, the group was chosen to run a mass vaccination clinic in the Pennsylvania Convention Center where about 7,000 first vaccination doses were administered. Shortly after the group began vaccinations, it ended its testing operations, leaving many residents with appointments untested. The group also changed its corporate status from non-profit to for profit. These actions lead the public health department to sever ties with the group. Additional concerns came about after the group's privacy policy indicated personal data submitted by residents seeking vaccination could possibly be sold. Doroshin was later accused of taking vaccine doses home and administering them to friends. He later admitted to doing so in a Today Show interview and stood by his actions despite calling them a mistake.