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Philly vaccine rules spark confusion | Coronavirus Newsletter

Plus, these health problems get you to the front of Philly’s vaccine line

Nurses stand in the area where healthcare workers will take 15 minutes to rest and be observed after getting their COVID-19 vaccination. COVID-19 vaccination site set up inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Friday morning January 8, 2021. This is "The first community mass vaccine clinic to distribute COVID vaccine in Philadelphia is being held to ensure that critical healthcare workers, including those who go into the homes of the most vulnerable Philadelphians, are protected from getting and spreading the coronavirus to their families and clients."
Nurses stand in the area where healthcare workers will take 15 minutes to rest and be observed after getting their COVID-19 vaccination. COVID-19 vaccination site set up inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Friday morning January 8, 2021. This is "The first community mass vaccine clinic to distribute COVID vaccine in Philadelphia is being held to ensure that critical healthcare workers, including those who go into the homes of the most vulnerable Philadelphians, are protected from getting and spreading the coronavirus to their families and clients."Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer

TL;DR: A partnership between Rite Aid and Philadelphia, intended to help get the vaccine to health care workers, has enabled ineligible people to jump the line and get protection ahead of that top-priority group. Conditions like cystic fibrosis, asthma, dementia, and hypertension were left off Philadelphia’s list of high-risk conditions for priority vaccination, even though there is evidence that each may be associated with worse outcomes in COVID-19 patients.

— Kelly O’Shea (@kelloshea, health@inquirer.com)

What you need to know:

👨‍🏫 Penn medical school is giving vaccine priority to employees who don’t see patients. Philly says that’s against the rules.

💰The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against a Philadelphia company for allegedly jacking up its prices for N95 masks as consumers rushed to protect themselves from the pandemic.

💉 COVID-19 vaccines are starting to reach Philadelphia-area people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

👃 Hundreds lined up at Girard College Monday to get free coronavirus testing as part of the Fairmount boarding school’s 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

🔔 St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Society Hill on Sunday rang a bell in its tower 400 times to mark the approach of a somber milestone: 400,000 dead in the United States from the coronavirus.

📰 What’s going on in your county or neighborhood? We organized recent coverage of the coronavirus pandemic by local counties and Philly neighborhoods mentioned in the stories to make it easier for you to find the info you care about.

Local coronavirus cases

📈The coronavirus has swept across the Philadelphia region and cases continue to mount. The Inquirer and Spotlight PA are compiling geographic data on tests conducted, cases confirmed, and deaths caused by the virus. Track the spread here.

COVID-19 vaccine rules spark confusion for some in Philly. Others are jumping the line.

As vaccination rolls out with mounting confusion and disorganization, the nation’s chain drugstores say they could be the shot in the arm that the massive effort needs. But nothing happens easily during this pandemic. A partnership between Rite Aid and Philadelphia, intended to help get the vaccine to health care workers, has enabled ineligible people to jump the line and get protection ahead of that top-priority group, called 1a, which is at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Read more here.

Only certain health problems get you to the front of Philly’s vaccine line

When Philadelphia released its list of high-risk conditions that would make those with them eligible for doses in the next wave of vaccination, some Philadelphia residents felt left out. Conditions like cystic fibrosis, asthma, dementia, hypertension, and liver disease didn’t make the cut, even though there is evidence, federal authorities said, that each may be associated with worse outcomes in COVID-19 patients.

Helpful resources

  1. How to sign up for Philly COVID-19 vaccine alerts.

  2. Symptoms of COVID-19, flu, common cold, and allergies can overlap. How to tell the difference.

  3. The coronavirus is mainly transmitted through the air. Here’s how to tell if your ventilation is OK.

  4. How does the virus affect your entire body?

  5. Here’s what to know about traveling safely during the pandemic.

You got this: Serving up meals

Because of the pandemic and its economic fallout, the number of children in food-insecure households could reach 18 million, the highest in decades, according to Feeding America. Here’s how one Cumberland County school district has found ways to feed thousands of hungry students while classrooms are closed.

🎰 South Philadelphia’s Live! Casino and Hotel finally opened its doors over the weekend.

⌛ Will 2021 be another year of waiting? My colleague Elizabeth Wellington explains why it’s so hard, and how to make it easier.

🛁 Where to buy the best self-care products in Philadelphia.

Have a social distancing tip or question to share? Let us know at health@inquirer.com and your input might be featured in a future edition of this newsletter.

What we’re paying attention to

  1. Tipsters, tech-savvy kids, pharmacy hopping: The Washington Post explains how some Americans are landing coronavirus vaccines.

  2. Artificial intelligence designed to read sentences can also be used to interpret genetic changes in viruses, speeding up lab work to spot new COVID-19 variants, MIT Technology Review reports.

  3. In Los Angeles, ambulances circle for hours and ICUs are full. Is this what COVID-19 has in store for the rest of the country?, Stat asks.

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