Loretto Hospital no longer getting vaccine doses after Trump Tower inoculations
City officials announced Thursday that Loretto Hospital’s vaccine supply was cut off after previous doses were offered to individuals not yet eligible to receive them, including Cook County judges and workers at the Trump International Hotel & Tower.
The move comes as the small hospital in Austin faces intense scrutiny following Tuesday’s revelation that it wrongly vaccinated 72 employees at former President Donald Trump’s posh hotel and apartment building.
“While we will ensure that people who were vaccinated through Loretto can get their second doses on time, Loretto will not be receiving any first doses of vaccine next week,” said a spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Public Health, which is probing the Trump Tower vaccination event.
“The hospital will not receive first doses,” the spokesperson added, “until we can confirm their vaccination strategies and reporting practices meet all CDPH requirements.”
Block Club Chicago first reported on the city’s crackdown and the vaccination event at Trump Tower. In the wake of that news, WBEZ on Wednesday reported that Cook County judges and their spouses were also offered vaccinations at the hospital.
Loretto has chalked both flaps up to misunderstandings of who was eligible for vaccinations. A spokesperson for the hospital didn’t respond to a request for comment on the city’s decision to halt its vaccine supply.
Loretto’s actions have drawn a swift rebuke from Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration. On Thursday, the city’s Health Department sent a notice to vaccine providers across Chicago, warning that doses will be cut off to those who disregard eligibility guidelines.
Without naming Loretto, Lightfoot on Thursday offered a similar warning while bemoaning reports that some providers “allowed well-connected individuals to jump the line to receive the vaccine instead of using it to service people who were more in need.”
“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,” Lightfoot said. “But to be clear, we have and will continue to demand accountability.”