It all started with good intentions. A group of college friends wanted to help during the pandemic. They were using 3D printers to make face shields. Then they wanted to get involved with the city’s vaccination efforts. So they created Philly Fighting Covid, a nonprofit organization.
It’s important to note that Andrei Doroshin, the leader of the group is a 22-year-old graduate student in psychology at Drexel University with no background in health care. In fact, the core members of the group never had anyone with a medical degree or advanced degree in public health.
What happened next is exactly what you thought. Chaos ensued. Seniors were left in tears after finding that their vaccine appointments wouldn’t be honored.
In addition, without anyone’s knowledge, the nonprofit organization switched to a for-profit model and added a privacy policy that would allow it to sell users’ personal data. One volunteer alleged that the 22-year-old CEO had stolen vaccine doses for personal use.
On Jan 25, the city cut ties with Philly Fighting COVID, and prosecutors are looking into the “concerning” allegations. When health commissioner Tom Farley was 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.”
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