Vaccine eligibility expands in N.J. | Coronavirus Newsletter
Plus, Pa. women who leave jobs to care for kids are being wrongfully denied unemployment
TL;DR: Teachers, transportation workers, and other essential workers will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in New Jersey starting March 15, Gov. Phil Murphy announced. Some Pennsylvania mothers have been wrongfully denied unemployment after leaving their jobs to take care of their kids during the worst public-health crisis in a century.
— Kelly O’Shea (@kelloshea, health@inquirer.com)
What you need to know:
👩🏫 The Philadelphia School District is reopening, with the first teachers coming back to school buildings on Wednesday, followed by students on March 8. Here’s the full plan for students and teachers returning.
🏟️ Pennsylvania loosened restrictions on event crowds and eliminated out-of-state travel restrictions, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced Monday. Philadelphia officials said the city plans to match the commonwealth’s new guidelines.
💉 Officials are already fending off hundreds of ineligible appointments for COVID-19 vaccines before Philly’s FEMA-run site officially opens Wednesday.
🚶🏽 The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium’s vaccine clinics are now walk-up only, in an effort to expand access and equitable distribution of doses.
💰 COVID-19′s tax-season surprise: People whose income fluctuated significantly during the pandemic may have to pay back part of their Affordable Care Act insurance subsidy if they earned more than they expected.
🚘 A massive drive-through vaccination center is being built in King of Prussia — with no guarantee the state will give it vaccine doses.
📰 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.
Starting March 15, teachers and child-care workers will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday. At that time, migrant workers, transportation workers, airport employees, individuals experiencing homelessness, and residents of shelters also can start receiving vaccines. Two weeks later, on March 29, other essential and hospitality workers, clergy, and judicial and election staff will be eligible. State officials believe they can hit their goal of having 70% of the eligible population vaccinated by this summer, health commissioner Judith Persichilli said.
When her Berks County school board voted in August to send Maegen Wagner and her colleagues back into classrooms, the assistant teacher quit her job to protect her daughter who has Down Syndrome. She should have been assured of her financial survival because Pennsylvania case law is clear: If parents must leave their job because of lack of child care, they are eligible for unemployment benefits. But four months later, Wagner learned the state denied her application. Pennsylvania does not include child care among the reasons that applicants can cite on their unemployment application, making it difficult for working parents to navigate. If something is unclear, it is common for overextended claims managers not to reach applicants to clarify. Experts say this issue has impacted potentially thousands of working parents in Pennsylvania.
Helpful resources
Where can I get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Philly area? Use our lookup tool.
Why you still can’t visit friends or family unmasked, even if you’re fully vaccinated.
How to prepare for your COVID-19 vaccine appointment.
What to know about face masks, including whether to double up and when it might be time to replace yours.
You got this: Be spontaneous
A year into the coronavirus pandemic, many of us are grieving all that is impromptu and impetuous. My colleague Elizabeth Wellington wonders, will I ever be surprised by life’s serendipitous moments again? Here’s how to get some spontaneity back.
🖼️ The blockbuster ‘Immersive Van Gogh’ experience is coming to Philly this summer.
🤤 Composer Nolan Williams Jr. shares his favorite Black-owned restaurants in the area.
📖 Storytelling at the Betsy Ross House and other kid-friendly events in Philly this week.
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
The New York Times went into cramped intensive care wards in Britain, where the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has divided the nation.
Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine could deepen concerns over racial inequities by driving perceptions of a two-tiered system, The Washington Post reports.
President Joe Biden’s straight-talking CDC director has long used data to save lives, Kaiser Health News reports.
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