The 22-year-old CEO of a company that once worked with the city of Philadelphia to distribute coronavirus vaccines, but is now embroiled in controversy, admitted taking some vaccines home and injecting his friends.
Andrei Doroshin made the confession on The TODAY Show Thursday in what was his first TV interview since the fallout from the Philly Fighting scandal surrounding COVID, a group that once injected vaccines issued by the city. The city has since severed ties after the group failed to disclose that it had recently become a for-profit company, after collecting the personal data of thousands of residents.
Doroshin defended his decision to inject his friends despite not being a registered nurse. He told TODAY’s Stephanie Gosk that he had administered four doses that were left over and about to expire. Doroshin insisted that he and his group called high-risk people who qualified for a shot but couldn’t find anyone.
‘I stick to that decision. I understand I made that mistake. That’s my fault to bear for the rest of my life, but it is not the organization’s fault, ”said Doroshin.
City health officials had said on Wednesday that an audit of vaccine doses given to Philly Fighting COVID “found no evidence that the vaccine was being wasted, stolen, or otherwise misused.”
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s decision to partner with PFC, a 9-month-old startup, despite a litany of other options in the hospital-rich city, was surprising from the start.
“Why we should rely on an organization less than nine months old, founded primarily by students to produce PPE, and not by organizations that have a vetted track record of helping people to understand COVID-19 is beyond me, ”said Counsel Katherine Gilmore Richardson said. “I am amazed, I am amazed and I will never understand how this happened.”
The group never signed a contract with the city before receiving vaccine doses, because health department spokesman James Garrow said the city was not receiving federal funds to distribute the doses. Instead, the city only requires organizations to complete an interest form before receiving and distributing the vaccine, he said.
The city has refused to disclose the registration form that Philly Fighting filled out COVID to receive doses.
Initially, the group tested for the coronavirus and set up a store at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where they ran vaccination clinics and injected nearly 7,000 people. But in recent weeks, the Health Department said PFC abruptly stopped testing for the virus, another important part of the partnership.
As late as January 8, the city actively sent people to the group’s website to “commit” to be notified in advance when they were eligible for a vaccine. However, the group only recently posted a privacy policy, following concerns over the sale of people’s personal information, which Doroshin said did not happen and would violate HIPAA rules.
The city has since set up its own website and is encouraging people to sign up there.
PFC also started billing companies for the vaccines, despite getting them for free. Doroshin also defended that decision, claiming that the donations the group received were not enough to cover the costs of running the vaccination clinics.
However, reporting from WHYY and Billy Penn has since indicated that Doroshin embellished his resume and always intended to make a profit. A former volunteer at PFC told the news outlets that Doroshin was openly bragging about using the opportunity to become a millionaire.
The group has also been under scrutiny for other supposedly shoddy practices.
Katrina Lipinsky, a registered nurse and former PFC volunteer, told NBC10 that she found it “unusual” for the group not to ask for her references before administering her vaccines.
It is now unclear whether Doroshin, who says he has recently received death threats, will face criminal charges. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Kraner and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro are investigating the case.
Several members of the Philadelphia City Council are also calling for hearings on the partnership between the city and the group.