Officials probe how Trump Tower employees received vaccines before they were eligible

Local hospital sets up vaccine site at former president’s Chicago hotel

Officials have launched an inquiry into a vaccination site that opened up just outside of the Trump Tower in Chicago, where some employees of the former president’s hotel chain were inoculated before meeting eligibility requirements.

Chicago hotel employees are listed under Phase 1C in the city’s vaccination rollout plan, which meant they were not eligible to get the jab until the end of March, unless they met other specific requirements.

Yet the Loretto Hospital confirmed it had established a vaccine site earlier this week to inoculate employees at the Trump International Chicago, and said in a statement: “The Chicago Department of Public Health has been in contact with hospital leadership to clarify the department’s guidance regarding community vaccinations moving forward.”

The Chicago Department of Health confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the vaccination site had popped up at Trump Tower earlier this week. The department said it was not previously made aware of the event.

In its statement, the hospital said it had vaccinated 72 “predominately Black and brown restaurant, housekeeping and other hotel support personnel” after it had been contacted by employees of the Trump hotel who said they were “unable to leave their jobs to be vaccinated during regular in-hospital hours.”

According to Block Club Chicago, a spokesperson for the hospital said: “After subsequent conversations with the Chicago Department of Public Health, they have learned they were mistaken and will be following all city guidance regarding community testing moving forward.”

The news outlet reported hotel employees and a resident of the building said the shots were not just administered to minority workers, but young, white employees of the building as well, adding that the claims from the hospital appeared to refute those made by a Trump Tower executive. 

All essential workers, including hotel employees, will become eligible to receive the vaccine in Chicago on March 29, when the city transitions into the next phase of its rollout program. The city has currently restricted its vaccine rollout to Phase 1B recipients, which include frontline essential workers like hospital staff and grocery store employees.