Allegations pile up against Philly college kids tasked with distributing covid-19 vaccine

An organization consisting mainly of young adults was authorized by officials in Philadelphia to manage the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine at the city’s largest vaccination site.

The self-described “group of college kids,” Philly Fighting COVID, has reportedly bungled the job, and is currently facing a large amount of serious allegations at that.

The Washington Post reports that the members of the Philly Fighting COVID organization had “minimal health-care experience,” mismanaging even simple administration tasks such as honoring vaccination appointments made by seniors.

Other allegations include witness reports of the young adults vaccinating each other as they posed for photos and the organization’s 22-year-old CEO, Andrei Doroshin, taking dosages back home with him. One registered nurse who volunteered with the organization even claims she was not asked to verify her medical license or health care qualifications prior to vaccinating people.

On top of that, The Philadelphia Inquirer states that the non-profit suddenly switched to becoming a for-profit organization, something which it failed to disclose. This caused great concern for officials, especially when it was discovered that the organization’s new privacy policy described ways in which personal information that was entered into the group’s preregistration portal could be sold.

The city of Philadelphia has cut ties with a group run by a young graduate student that was tapped to run the city’s first mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic. The move comes after a series of reports uncovered troubling allegations about the group. @stephgosk reports. pic.twitter.com/StGQa4UVsb

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 28, 2021

Philadelphia Health Commissioner, Thomas Farley, confirmed Tuesday that the city had terminated its relationship with Philly Fighting COVID after these reports were made public. He also emphasized the fact that the organization’s involvement with the vaccine distribution site was entirely voluntary and that “there was no money exchanged for them to run this clinic.”

Doroshin in turn has denied these allegations, calling them “frankly untrue.” An official statement made by Doroshin which was posted to the organization’s Instagram reads, “We understand that there are legitimate inquiries into our privacy policies. There was language in our privacy policy that was problematic, and as soon as we became aware of it, we removed it.”

Official Statement from Philly Fighting COVID’s CEO - Andrei Doroshin pic.twitter.com/77djD4ETjM

— Philly Fighting COVID (@PhillyFighting) January 26, 2021

The post continues, “I apologize for the mistake in our privacy policy. We never have and never would sell, share, or disseminate any data we collected as it would be in violation of HIPAA rules.”

Farley additionally stated Tuesday that Philadelphia officials are planning to run clinics using another organization, health-care provider, or volunteer or contract nurses.

Anyone seeking to file a complaint against Philly Fighting COVID should do so with the attorney general’s office. Investigations into the matter are ongoing.