CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Mayor Lightfoot is issuing a warning to providers of the COVID-19 vaccine: follow the rules or else.
Mayor Lightfoot said the city will stop giving vaccine to hospitals that allow people "cut" in line.
The warning comes as Loretto Hospital staff vaccinated some employees at Trump Tower and Eric Trump. Hotel and restaurant workers are not yet eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
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Loretto's Chief Operating Officer Dr. Anosh Ahmed, who lives in Trump Tower, told people he vaccinated Eric Trump, according to Block Club Chicago. He then later claimed he was just joking.
The Mayor asked Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady to “dig deeper” into the hospital’s story about the event.
“… Our city will not tolerate providers who blatantly disregard the Chicago Department of Public Health’s distribution guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccine,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a Thursday statement. “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.”
In a letter to Loretto’s staff, the hospital’s CEO George Miller took responsibility for the March 10 vaccination event.
Lightfoot said the city "will continue to demand accountability" and if any providers are cut off from vaccine supply, Chicago will be sure "that residents are not left in the lurch” and can still get vaccinated.
According to Block Club Chicago, the city sent a warning to COVID-19 vaccine providers on Thursday, that read, “The city of Chicago is no longer providing vaccine doses to providers who were found to have disregarded and not adhered to the below prioritization guidelines. Providers who knowingly disregard or whose patient prioritization and outreach practices do not effectively adhere to the prioritization guidelines will be ineligible for further City of Chicago vaccine doses.
“Providers who do not enter doses into I-CARE or inventory into Vaccine Finder in a timely manner will also be ineligible for City of Chicago vaccine doses moving forward.”
Loretto Hospital fell under another controversy after ineligible Cook County judges, as well as their spouses and others, were also offered vaccine doses.