The one thing we need to conquer the coronavirus | Morning Newsletter
And, newly obtained emails show Philly Fighting COVID red flags.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
First: The world needs one thing to reopen safe and fast. Here’s why testing is so complicated.
Then: “In a hurry” is how the city explained the failed Philly Fighting COVID partnership. More than 200 emails we obtained suggest otherwise.
And: Yesterday on Easter Sunday 2021, the faithful came together in person for the first time in a long time.
— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
We still don’t have the one thing that could conquer the coronavirus along with vaccinations: a test that gives you the answer quickly.
A simple, cheap and fast test that could identify asymptomatic spreaders could dramatically speed up a safer reopening. It could be used any place, anytime to check people who don’t have the symptoms. (Together, it’s asymptomatic people who make up nearly half of the infections.)
The reliability of tests for people who don’t have the symptoms is still far from guaranteed. And realistically, there are still many unknowns, nuances and variables that come with testing now.
So, when it comes to COVID-19 testing, how good is good enough?
Reporter Marie McCullough has everything we know so far about the COVID-19 testing we need to pull out of the pandemic.
The city has explained its unofficial sanction and publicity for Philly Fighting COVID that turned into a scandal on the national stage by saying they were “acting in a hurry.”
But more than 200 emails we obtained seem to tell a different story. They show the Health Department coordinating closely with the group of “college kids” for months before the first mass clinic launched. Among a number of things, the messages show 22-year-old Andrei Doroshin, Philly Fighting COVID’s CEO and a Drexel University grad student with no public health experience, criticizing Ala Stanford, the physician who founded and runs the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium.
The city ended the partnership back in January after we raised questions about the group’s ability to sell patient personal data.
Read on for reporters Ellie Silverman and Laura McCrystal’s story about how the emails we obtained were rife with red flags.
Am I eligible to get vaccinated? Know the requirements for Philly, Pa., and New Jersey.
Where can I get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Philly area? Use our lookup tool.
Here’s how to prepare for your vaccine appointment.
If you’re lucky enough to book not one, but two vaccine appointments, don’t forget to cancel that appointment you won’t be needing.
What you can do safely once you’re fully vaccinated.
Can you go on vacation yet? This is how to know what’s safe.
What you need to know today
For at least a year, church members around the Philly region mostly worshiped virtually until yesterday for Easter.
Finally: Pa. is expanding vaccine eligibility. The state wants to change the perception that the vaccine rollout was a communications failure, and the coming days will be a test.
Unclear home ownership after loved ones die can make everything impossible. Could this be Philly’s solution when abandoned homes become a blight on neighborhoods?
Pa. bars opened yesterday, and this is what that scene was like.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Thanks for sharing this treetop view. Consider this a reason to go (safely) outside. You’ll find some of the best stuff is right where you left it.
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout-out!
That’s interesting
⚾ The Phillies have already been winning a lot, and we have some idea why.
🍺 A yeast scraped off the bark of a dogwood tree in a Philly cemetery is scoring accolades in the beer industry.
🌱 This is where to buy high-quality, affordable plants in the region.
🧱 Your home has taken a beating during the pandemic. This is how to undo the damage with hacks from experts.
📚 Spring feels suited to “whims and awakenings.” These are the big books to read this season.
🎭 Want the “best seats” to Hamilton or Hadestown for the Kimmel Broadway series comeback? It’s going to set you back.
Opinions
“Let’s praise President Joe Biden’s plan for its audacity,” — writes columnist Maria Panaritis on how Biden’s infrastructure plan could rescue Pennsylvania roads and transit with federal money the state hasn’t seen in decades.
Architecture critic Inga Saffron writes about why we need housing density where it will be beneficial.
“We deserve to be respected simply because we exist, not for what we can produce or offer,” says psychologist Becky M. Cheung, who writes that at a time of anti-Asian violence, silence reinforces harmful stereotypes.
What we’re reading
A jazz enthusiast makes the case against the view of Rittenhouse neighbors that musicians who play in the park are a “disturbance” on WHYY.
A recent CDC study sheds some light on the promising potential of vaccines everyone would love to hear, Bloomberg reports.
Meet the man calling himself Grandmaster Jay who has assembled a militia with obscure goals, introduced to us by The Atlantic.
What if you could type the antibiotics you need into your computer and it could make them for you in days? That future may be coming, Vox reports.
In case you missed it, actor Daniel Kaluuya called out the royal family in his pointed SNL monologue, and Entertainment Weekly has the recap.
Bob Reiss works at Woods Services, a center for people with intellectual disabilities. For five years, he’s been one of the people who looked out for Benjamin, a.k.a. “Benjie,” who has chronic medical conditions and autism. Now, Reiss has decided to live with Benjamin, through the LifeShare program. The two men will live together and basically become a family.