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Loretto CEO George Miller said he authorized a vaccination clinic at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in downtown Chicago on March 10 for hotel workers.
In a note obtained by CNN, Miller told staff in part: “We were, at the time, under the impression that restaurant workers and other frontline workers in the hospitality industry were considered ‘essential.’ per City of Chicago eligibility criteria 1b.
Ahmed owns a condo in Trump Tower worth $ 2 million, according to the Cook County Property Tax portal.
CNN has contacted the Trump organization twice but has yet to receive a comment. CNN has also reached out to Ahmed for comment.
Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner Dr Allison Arwady said some people who did not meet the eligibility criteria had received the vaccine.
“The biggest concern here is that they are vaccinating people who were not yet eligible, but of course added to that, of course, the fact that it seems they were prioritizing people who were well. connected and allowed them to skip the line, ”Arwady said. “It’s disappointing that the suppliers we prioritize don’t choose to live up to their mission.”
Late Wednesday, Loretto Hospital board chairman Edward M. Hogan said the board would continue to investigate wrongdoing.
“If our review should reveal anything that indicates that our processes have been compromised, additional consequences will be imposed on those responsible for those actions,” he said in a statement.
Julie Kudlacz, a spokesperson for the hospital, said in an email exchange with CNN on Wednesday that the vaccines given at Trump Tower were not part of Protect Chicago Plus, a city program focused on vaccinating minority communities.
They were part of the hospital’s vaccine allocation, Kudlacz said.
Kudlacz also told CNN that a hospital audit found that 68 of 72 people who received the vaccine at Trump Tower were black, Latin American or Asian. The other four classified themselves as other / non-Hispanic.
Miller said in his statement that the Trump Tower clinic stemmed from requests from residents of the West Side.
Illinois Governor: ‘It is unacceptable to let people jump the line’
Alderman Emma Mitts has said in the past year that she has lost track of how many friends – many of whom have voted for her – have died from Covid-19.
“There was so much we couldn’t keep up with, and it was just heartbreaking,” she said. “They would call and say, ‘My mother is dead.'”
After more than a year of suffering from Covid-19, Mitts now faces a different kind of pain. The hospital is located in the Austin neighborhood, near the neighborhood represented by Mitts, who has served as a city councilor for two decades. She said her constituents were among the most vulnerable.
“Making that happen is definitely a tragedy,” Mitts said. “Not everyone should have to pay for someone else’s mistake when they know they had nothing to do with it.”
Illinois State Senator Kimberly A. Lightford, vice chairman of the board of directors at Loretto, said Miller and Ahmed were “reprimanded” by the hospital’s board of directors.
“And that doesn’t change the fact that what they’ve done wrong is wrong,” Lightford said, adding that the public might hear of more wrongdoing related to the distribution of vaccines. “We widely reprimanded the president and (former) director of operations at the hospital. Sanctions were imposed (and) finance charges as well. None of them were satisfied, of course. Maybe we thought we were a little harsh. I assure you; this will not happen again. “
Lightford said she, like Mitts, was disappointed.
“I think they did a bad job going to the Trump Tower,” she said. “My frustration is when someone doesn’t follow the rules here … everyone’s in pain, but I think the hospital takes care of it.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker called what happened “unacceptable.”
“It is unacceptable to let people skip the line, especially if people got confused,” he said.
People who need a vaccine most could have it, doctor says
The Chicago Department of Public Health issued a statement saying it would ensure people vaccinated with Loretto can receive their second dose on time.
Loretto will not receive the first doses until the CDPH confirms that Loretto’s vaccination strategies and reporting practices meet all the requirements of the CDPH, according to a statement from the Office of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
The city’s first Covid-19 vaccines were administered at Loretto hospital in December. The hospital was chosen because of the need of the community and its proximity to the Austin neighborhood.
The hospital was also the first to establish a West Side community testing site in April 2020. State statistics show that region has recorded 10,535 cases of Covid-19, the second highest number of Covid cases. -19 in the state, according to Loretto Hospital.
Dr Wendy Goodall McDonald – who treats patients all over town – said those who need the vaccine the most could suffer from it.
“I think the withdrawal of vaccines for the region will hurt and hurt black and brown communities,” she said. “They pulled it out of an area on the West Side of Chicago where there is already a shortage or decrease in the number of places people can get vaccinated.”
McDonald, who is OB-GYN at Women’s Health Consulting, said some of his patients had struggled to secure appointments for the Covid-19 vaccine, comparing booking appointments to trying to get tickets concert for Beyoncé.
She said she hopes the controversy surrounding the case is a motivation for minority communities who are reluctant to get vaccinated.
“The vaccine is safe,” she said. “Look at the people clamoring for it.”
Alderman Mitts, who received two doses of the vaccine earlier this year in Loretto, said she didn’t want the people she served for nearly two decades to miss a life-saving vaccine.
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