PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Philly Fighting COVID's name, and the city's fumbled public vaccination project, are causing problems for a federally funded health center that has been helping underinsured Philadelphians for 30 years.
Philadelphia FIGHT was founded to address gaps in care related to HIV and AIDS. They have no association with Philly Fighting COVID, which the city recently cut ties with, and CEO Jane Shull wants to make that clear.
"Because we’re Philadelphia FIGHT, and we have the word 'fight' in our name, people are confusing us with them. We felt we had to put out a statement, in part, because of the number of calls we’re getting from people," Shull said.
She says, in addition, they put an alert on their website.
Shull says she is concerned that the "bungled" issues with the Philly Fighting COVID project may affect their chances of getting vaccinations to the vulnerable populations they serve.
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"The other issue is that we work with the city to do COVID testing, and we hope we're going to be able to work with the city to do COVID vaccines. We work in low-income communities, where people don't usually have access," Shull said. "We’re afraid that people who already have reason not to trust the vaccine are going to get even more worried and upset."
Shull says they will continue to provide the reliable care that they have for decades.
"There is good care in this city. There are people who really do care about their patients and who respect them and want to make sure they get services. Hopefully, some of us will get the opportunity to do vaccinations and people will trust enough to come."