CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Loretto Hospital in Chicago is now confirming the medical staff there vaccinated judges – even though they did not yet qualify to receive the vaccine.
The hospital said it offered the shots to more than a dozen Cook County judges and their spouses or any second person of their choosing.
Loretto Hospital's CEO George Miller said the vaccinations came out of confusion whether eligibility was linked to the state's Phase 1B or 1B+ vaccination plans; but the city's guidelines clearly state judges fall into Phase 1C.
The city announced they will begin vaccinating those who qualify in Phase 1C beginning March 29.
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It is unclear how many judges and others received vaccinations.
This is the second time Loretto Hospital has admitted to vaccinating people out of turn, giving doses to hotel and restaurant workers at Trump Tower - even though they did not qualify.
Mayor Lightfoot calls the matter disappointing and said the Chicago Department of Public Health will deny vaccine allocations to providers that do not follow the eligibility guidelines.
“As I said yesterday, our City will not tolerate providers who blatantly disregard the Chicago Department of Public Health’s distribution guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccine. This life saving vaccine is a precious, but limited resource and one that must be preserved to do the most good. Since day one of this virus, Chicago’s vaccination plan has been focused around equity and reaching those who need this life-saving treatment the most. Unfortunately, in recent days, stories have surfaced alleging providers who had an obligation to follow CDPH guidelines, ignored those restrictions and instead allowed well-connected individuals to jump the line to receive the vaccine instead of using it to service people who were more in need. CDPH is looking into these matters and if they identify providers who aren’t following the guidance, they will deny them future allocations of vaccine. If we are compelled to take action against any such providers, we will always make sure that residents are not left in the lurch and their needs are met. But to be clear, we have and will continue to demand accountability.”
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