In Philadelphia, A Scandal Erupts Over Vaccination Start-Up Led By 22-Year-Old

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Andrei Doroshin, CEO of Philly Fighting COVID, speaks to reporters before the start of a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on January 8, 2021.

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Home health workers wait in line outside the convention center in Philadelphia at the Jan. 8 vaccination clinic held by Philly Fighting Covid, a startup company.

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A nurse demonstrates how to administer a COVID-19 vaccination at a clinic organized by Philly Fighting Covid on Jan. 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

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A nurse demonstrates how to administer a COVID-19 vaccination at a clinic organized by Philly Fighting Covid on Jan. 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Kimberly Paynter/WHYY

The city soon began to back away from the group. At its initial launch, the city promoted Philly Fighting Covid’s pre-registration website and encouraged everyone to sign up. Just a week later, officials changed course, claiming the city had nothing to do with the website. This caused confusion among the 60,000 Philadelphians who had signed up thinking it was an official city site. Many were left worried about what would happen to their personal information. The city then launched its own pre-registration site.

The process Philly Fighting Covid used to schedule appointments was also flawed. Anyone who received a hyperlink could sign up for a time slot, which prompted many who received it to assume they were automatically eligible, even though at that time the clinic was technically only for health care workers and the elderly.

Some who received the link in error went through with their appointments. Others backed out when they learned it wasn’t their turn. Still more had their doses canceled by Philly Fighting Covid upon arrival.

When Jillian Horn came to get a shot, she says she saw seniors waiting in line get turned away due to booking errors.

«There was literally 85-year-olds, 95-year-old people standing there, with printed appointment confirmations saying, ‘I don’t understand why I can’t get vaccinated, Horn recalled.

On January 23rd, volunteer nurse Katrina Lipinksi was helping at one of Philly Fighting Covid’s vaccination events. She said that about half an hour before the event’s scheduled end, staffers started walking around and telling volunteers and other workers to call anyone they knew to come in for a shot, because there were going to be extras.

Then, she saw Doroshin grab a handful of vaccines and stuff them in his bag, along with the corresponding CDC vaccination record cards.

«The idea of somebody who’s not a licensed health care professional vaccinating their own friend, with or without observation period, that certainly was not the right thing to do, Lipinksi told WHYY.

Doroshin initially denied Lipinski’s account, but eventually admitted he took doses home during a Jan. 28 interview on NBC’s «Today show. The following day at a press conference, he said more: that he had vaccinated his girlfriend, but no one else. He did not explain how Philly Fighting Covid ended up with extra doses after it turned away people, including seniors, who were in line waiting for the vaccine that same day.

The city cut ties with Philly Fighting Covid on Jan. 25, citing the companys abandonment of its testing work and the company’s new privacy policy, which would have allowed it to sell patient data.

Health commissioner Tom Farley has been asked to explain what happened. Doroshin approached with a vaccine plan, he says, that met the city’s health standards.

«I hope people can understand why on the surface this looked like a good thing, Farley says. «In retrospect, we should have been more careful with this organization.

The city had other options for a mass vaccination partner. Philadelphia is home to four major health systems, including the University of Pennsylvania Medical system, which said it was prepared to ramp up community vaccination efforts as far back as November, well before the city started working with Philly Fighting Covid.

Mayor Kenney called for an investigation Friday, and several state lawmakers called for Farley’s resignation.

In a press conference at his apartment building Friday, Doroshin called the city’s decision to dissolve the partnership «dirty power politics, and alleged it was part of a political conspiracy. He said if given the chance, he wouldn’t have done anything differently.

This story was produced in partnership with WHYY and Kaiser Health News.