CHICAGO (CBS) – The Chicago Department of Public Health announced on Tuesday that it is cutting a vaccine supplier that was under contract with the Chicago Public Schools and then gave vaccine to unauthorized non-CPS officials.
The provider, Innovative Express Care, or IEC, deliberately allocated 6,000 doses of vaccine incorrectly, the department said.
SEE MORE INFORMATION: Child tax credit: ‘IRS is not currently set up to provide regular monthly payments’, says the expert
That included the vaccine that was supposed to be used in people’s second doses, but it was used in the first few doses, the department said.
“This is completely unacceptable behavior,” the department said in the statement.
As Jermont Terry of CBS 2 reported, the signs outside the Innovative Express Care facilities on Ashland and Fullerton Avenues, and at 1111 W. Diversey Pkwy., Clearly show that people can be vaccinated there. But that is no longer the case.
The health center cannot give vaccinations to anyone.
CDPH said it will recover all vaccines distributed and stored by the IEC. New providers will take over the administration of the vaccine for people who should receive it through the IEC, the department said.
CPS staff with appointments on Wednesday will be rescheduled for the foreseeable future, and notifications are already underway, the department said. CPS staff with appointments on Thursday and later will be vaccinated at the same locations as the CPS high school where they were originally scheduled, the department said.
The department said the IEC will no longer carry out any first dose vaccinations, and people should visit Zocdoc to find available consultations. Those who have scheduled a second dose appointment through the IEC will be vaccinated at a clinic created especially for them at Truman College, and will be contacted.
But some patients who gave their first injection through Innovative, but were not part of the reprogramming aimed at CPS, said they were left dry for the second injection. People who talked to Terry from CBS 2 on and off the camera are furious that they may be back to square one, because their second chance is in limbo now.
“Having no idea what to do or what is going to happen is a big concern,” said Billie Risley.
Risley’s concerns came after the CDPH ceased all doses remaining in the possession of the IEC.
“I can understand someone who doesn’t follow the rules or doesn’t follow instructions, but leaves everyone out without getting their second vaccine and shutting people down – it’s like an open commitment that we just close the door,” said Risley.
Risley received a text message saying that he should reschedule his second dose. He doesn’t even work for CPS.
Innovative Express approached his manufacturing company to give it a try, and how he can’t get the peace of mind he hoped for with the second shot.
SEE MORE INFORMATION: Senators Duckworth and Hirono back down threats to oppose Biden candidates after the White House adds AAPI adviser
“And now I feel like I’m lost and I have to search, and Monday will be my fourth week,” said Risley, “so what am I going to do now? I’m on a deadline. “
Innovative Express Care issued a statement protesting the city’s claims on Tuesday – saying that all it did was give excessive doses of the vaccine to other eligible people.
The IEC said it “proudly opened four CPS vaccination sites” and, since last week, all members of the CPS team have had the opportunity to be vaccinated.
IEC said it vaccinated thousands of CPS employees at its own clinic and at the four CPS sites, and noted that CPS had said that a significant number of its employees had been vaccinated on Wednesday, March 17. All doses of vaccine that were not used by the CPS at the end of each week were used as a first dose for another eligible patient, said the IEC.
“We always made sure that there were enough allocations for additional doses for all CPS employees. We received vaccines every week, and our intention was always to have a 100 percent utilization rate so that each dose we received was placed in the arm of a qualified patient that week, ”wrote the IEC. “Clearly, we took this idealistic view very seriously, which meant that doses intended for CPS staff were actually intended for the elderly, essential frontline workers and other qualified patients. We never abandon commitment to CPS employees, nor to other qualified individuals. “
“However, we now understand that CDPH staff expected us to stock up on the vaccines that they allocated to provide a second dose to CPS staff. This is where the communication failure occurred. CDPH staff never made it clear to us that we should store more than half of our weekly vaccine quota in a freezer for people waiting for their second dose. Instead, our goal was to get as many vaccines as possible in the arms of eligible patients, as quickly as possible, ”added the IEC.
The IEC said it followed city and state rules on who was eligible for the vaccine from the start and always adhered to medical ethics. The IEC also said that it proactively programmed eligible people who live in black and brown communities with few medical services.
“Effective distribution of the vaccine must be modeled, not penalized,” wrote the IEC.
The IEC criticized the city government for the charges against the clinic.
“The decision by CDPH officials today leaves us perplexed, sad and downright disappointed with our local government,” wrote the IEC. “CDPH employees never made it clear to us, suppliers, that we should store vaccines in a refrigerator for people waiting for the second dose. Instead, we have followed the nation’s commitment to getting as many vaccines into the arms of eligible patients as quickly as possible. Our mission involved vaccinating the largest number of eligible patients as quickly as possible, and not at the whim of the city’s official’s latest political crisis. “
Meanwhile, Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey criticized Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the CPS leadership in a statement on the matter – accusing them of failing to prevent vaccine doses for teachers and staff CPS were for other people.
“After hearing the mayor and the CPS leadership tell us that vaccinating teachers before returning to face-to-face classes was impossible, so about how ‘robust’ their plan was, we now find that 6,000 doses of the vaccine have been taken and administered for others, rather than educators and CPS staff – many of whom are some of the most medically vulnerable people working in our schools, ”said Sharkey in the statement. “Several teachers and staff have had appointments scheduled for less than 24 hours canceled from now on. It is a failure, on several levels, of the people who run our school district. “
Sharkey said the CPS and the mayor canceled teachers’ licenses because they believed vaccines were offered to all CTU members. He noted that the claims against IEC came shortly after a scandal involving the Loretto Hospital on the city’s West Side, in which senior executives were reprimanded for providing vaccines to ineligible but well-connected people.
“Before the CPS cancels someone’s license, they may want to audit who is doing what with vaccine doses for our school staff,” Sharkey wrote. “And the Chicago City Council should convene hearings on how the city is partnering with organizations to administer this potentially life-saving drug.”
MORE NEWS: Chicago policeman injured in Bronzeville accident after woman passes red light
As for what will happen next for people in Risley’s position, they will likely have to go online and pick up the phone in the morning to try to make an appointment. But it is even more difficult, as they must find an appointment with someone who offers the specific dose they originally received – what one person said is like looking for a needle in a haystack.