Philly Fighting COVID: Deputy Commissioner of Health resigns



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Dr Caroline Johnson resigned his post as Philadelphia deputy health commissioner on Saturday evening. She improperly consulted with two groups demanding the distribution of vaccines, the city’s health department said.

After the city issued a request for proposals for vaccine distribution partners, Johnson spoke to Philly Fighting COVID and the Black Doctors COVID-19 consortium about their applications, the Department of Health said in a statement on Saturday, calling it the action of “inappropriate”. may have been intended to help the city distribute vaccines.

“These communications were made after the publication of the RFP,” said spokesperson James Garrow, referring to both groups. “However, these actions were inappropriate as the information shared was not available to all potential applicants.”

Dr Ala Stanford, head of the Black Doctors COVID-19 consortium, said on Saturday evening that the description of the email she received as similar to the one PFC had received was not a fair categorization because Johnson’s note in Doroshin included specific dates for clinics, the CEO. and the health official had clearly already discussed.

“They were given inside information – they were given the opportunity to predict that others could not afford it,” Stanford said.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Johnson emailed Philly Fighting COVID CEO Andrei Doroshin with advice on his candidacy, telling him to start “cautiously” with a $ 500,000 offer and that he was ” well to include the costs of your planning activities and the January 8 proposal. 9 event. “

Stanford said that by giving Doroshin permission to include in its proposal the costs of its next clinics – which would occur before city funds became available – Johnson was essentially guaranteeing the contract to Doroshin.

Stanford herself found out about the Philly Fighting COVID clinics on the news when they launched on Jan.8, she said, even before she was approached to run one.

When receiving an email from Johnson on Dec. 31, Stanford said, outlining the scope of a budget to be included in the Black Doctors Consortium’s bid for a clinic bid, it was a surprise.

After seeing the email sent to PFC at the time, Stanford guessed that Johnson was giving him the same courtesy in an effort to avoid showing favoritism. The city’s RFP processes are laden with extensive requirements to help ensure fairness among applicants and avoid the potential for bias.

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