Mayor Kenney, Dr. Farley respond to report on relationship with Philly Fighting Covid

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Mayor Jim Kenney and Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley admitted to shortcomings in the city's relationship with Philly Fighting Covid, the group tasked with running the first mass vaccination clinic in Philadelphia.

The city broke off the partnership in January after concerns were raised over data privacy and the medical qualifications of the CEO running the group, 22-year-old Andrei Doroshin.

"I believe the findings of the Inspector General accurately reflect the mistakes that were made. And I fully accept the recommendations of the report: more extensive training for staff on contracting, particularly in emergencies, and improved transparency about vaccination progress for the public," said Mayor Kenney in a statement on Monday.

SEE ALSO: City ending partnership with Philly Fighting COVID after change to for-profit organization

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health announced it is no longer working with Philly Fighting COVID to provide testing or vaccines.

Kenney's response comes after an independent investigation found mistakes on the part of the health department, but no illegal or unethical actions.

Doroshin, who admitted to giving four vaccine doses that were about to expire to his friends, has always defended his company's actions.

"You know what, I did the job. We did the job. We vaccinated almost 7,000 people... They couldn't do it themselves. Dr. Farley screwed this up. He couldn't do this himself," Doroshin said during a one-on-one interview in January.

SEE ALSO: Philly Fighting COVID CEO defends company's actions in 1-on-1 interview

1-ON-1 INTERVIEW: The CEO of Philly Fighting COVID admitted to administering vaccines without medical qualifications to four of his friends.

The Inspector General report found that Farley was detached on the vaccination process, and instead focused on testing.

"I was pleased to learn that they did not identify any illegal or unethical actions by Department of Health employees. That said, it is my responsibility that the Health Department doesn't make bad decisions-like working with PFC-no matter how quickly we are trying to respond to this epidemic," said Farley.

On Monday, Farley also released details of his plan, presented to the mayor, including increasing the department's vaccine team, vetting providers and redirecting doses where needed most.