'How Was This Allowed To Happen?': Philadelphia City Councilmember Demands Hearings Into City's Dealings With Philly Fighting COVID
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia City Councilmember is demanding hearings into the COVID vaccination scandal. It comes as we are learning stunning new allegations against the ousted Philly Fighting COVID group.
"I have no idea how these people got here. I have no idea where they came from," Philadelphia City Councilmember Cindy Bass said.
It's a shocking allegation that has one Philadelphia City Councilmember introducing a resolution on Thursday to order hearings into the city's Health Department's dealings with Philly Fighting COVID after a volunteer with the clinic posted on Twitter that the CEO of the clinic took home a bag full of vaccines.
"How was this allowed to happen, and what were the city's protocols and demanding to know how many shots were given out. And also what's our record-keeping on this? There's just so many questions," Bass said.
Bass wants to know where this group of recent college graduates came from, and how they became one of the largest vaccine providers in the city.
"I think this says that Philadelphia has a whole lot of work to do around making arrangements and doing business with folks," Bass said.
Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley called the allegations "disturbing."
The city has severed its relationship with Philly Fighting COVID after it changed its status from a non-profit organization to for-profit.
"I understand why people would be concerned about that. In retrospect, we should have been more careful with this organization," Farley said.
Right now, there are more questions than answers, and the city leaders are working to get some clarity quickly.
"I just don't understand how this happened, but we've got to restore public trust because the people are really hurting," Bass said.
Hearings would be authorized upon a majority vote of tomorrow.
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