At least two investigations are underway into how the city’s health department gave the contract-free job to Andrei Doroshin, a Drexel University student with almost no public health experience.
“You know what, I did the job. We did the job. We vaccinated almost 7,000 people,” Doroshin said in an interview with Action News.
He said the Philadelphia Department of Health is fortunate that his company used the Pennsylvania Convention Center vaccine clinic for health workers.
“They couldn’t do it themselves. Dr. Farley ruined it. He couldn’t do it himself,” Doroshin said.
The City Council is scheduled to hold a hearing on Friday. Council President Darrell Clarke wants to require the city to sign written contracts with vaccination partners, given what he called the embarrassment and mistrust that ensued. Meanwhile, the city’s Office of the Inspector General is examining whether Dr. Caroline Johnson, an acting assistant to the health department, unfairly provided Doroshin’s group and another potential candidate with budget information that was not made public.
“It did not favor one of these organizations over the other. It did not provide information on how to provide a clinical vaccination plan or any other inside information. And it did not offer any additional dose of vaccine to any of the organizations.” said Farley about Johnson.
SEE ALSO: Philadelphia’s acting health commissioner resigns
Johnson, an infectious disease specialist, resigned over the weekend. Mayor Jim Kenney on Monday praised his previous work for the city, but said “we’re going to break up from time to time,” as the city responds to the pandemic.
The City Council is scheduled to hold a hearing Friday on the work awarded to Doroshin’s group, Philly Fighting Covid, which distributed nearly 7,000 vaccines this month before the city stopped it amid questions about its competition and privacy policy. patient.
“It was clear that this was a connection. Why wasn’t this written?” Council member Cindy Bass asked at a virtual press conference Monday afternoon.
Doroshin has insisted he did nothing wrong, though he admits he took four doses of the hard-to-get vaccine and administered it to friends.
“The health department’s recommendation put her on any arm. It’s a war on a virus. By the end of the day, the doses were about to expire,” Doroshin said last week. “What would you have done? You have those four extra doses, you’ve called everyone, they’re about to expire, according to the guide, put them in one arm.”
SEE ALSO: Philly Fighting CEO COVID defends the company’s actions in an individual interview
– Associated Press contributed to this report.
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