The (im)morality of jumping the vaccine line | Morning Newsletter
And, cancel student debt for racial justice, activists say.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Tom Brady appears in his record 10th Super Bowl this Sunday, and his first as a member of the “Tompa Bay” Buccaneers. If he wins a record seventh title, let’s remind him: Only two NFC East teams, and only two quarterbacks, are responsible for all three of Title Tom’s previous losses. Pretty special.
First: Some people are apparently line-jumping to get their COVID-19 vaccines sooner.
Then: Blanket student debt cancellation, a Philly group says, would chip away at the growing racial-wealth gap.
And: The Philly teachers’ union doesn’t think it’s safe to reopen schools, and it wants City Hall to step in.
— Tommy Rowan (@tommyrowan, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Many Americans apparently didn’t learn their elementary-school lesson and aren’t waiting their turn for a COVID-19 vaccination.
Instead, some people are jumping ahead of others to get their COVID-19 vaccine sooner rather than later.
Reporter Alfred Lubrano, who gathered anecdotal evidence from ethicists and medical observers, writes that “there’s no doubt that when demand is high and supply is limited, people are capable of outrageous self-regard.”
Don’t be one of “those people.”
Not long ago, the idea of wiping out every American borrower’s student loan debt was nothing more than wishful thinking.
Newly minted President Joe Biden is pushing Congress, in light of the pandemic, to pass legislation that would forgive $10,000 in federal student loan debt for every borrower.
But Biden’s plan, says a group of more than 200 organizations, is not enough.
Reporter Anna Orso writes that these groups, including the Debt Collective and the NAACP, are “advocating for Biden to use executive power to cancel student debt entirely, which they say could pull entire communities out of the cycle of intergenerational debt and chip away at the racial wealth gap.”
There’s no sense being picky, experts say. Take the first authorized vaccine that you’re offered.
Penn cardiologist explains how COVID-19 can affect the heart.
Besides PPP, here are other sources where local small businesses can get relief.
Here are the updated coronavirus case numbers as COVID-19 continues to spread across the region.
Use our lookup tool to see where you can get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Philly area.
What you need to know today
The Philly teachers’ union, which doesn’t believe the city’s school buildings are safe for reopening as the School District plans to return some teachers on Monday, said it wants the city to assign a neutral third party to examine the evidence.
McKinsey & Company entered a $573 million settlement over allegations that the powerhouse consulting firm helped an opioid manufacturer boost sales and fend off oversight during a nationwide drug epidemic. Pennsylvania’s cut? Nearly $26 million.
Philly landlords are more than twice as likely to file for evictions against Black renters than against white renters, according to a new report.
The Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation is endeavoring to counter bigotry amid the nationwide rise in hate crimes with a new educational campaign that includes an app-based walking tour of the memorial site at 16th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Pennsylvania could become a national outlier in how it elects appellate judges. Here’s why experts are worried.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, of Bucks County, is sponsoring a bill to protect Arctic National Refuge, which former President Donald Trump sought to open for drilling.
Thanks for the reminder, @greatwhitescripturient.
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
🏈 This week, Super Bowl ticket prices declined, to the surprise of many, especially since the values had spiked in the immediate wake of the Jan. 24 conference championships. And because only 14,500 were made available to the general public.
🍳 Ya Fav Trashman is spotlighting Black-owned restaurants, chefs, and bakeries in February. Here’s what he recommends.
🎵 Amorphous is the hottest DJ on the internet right now — and he’s from, of all places, sleepy Huntingdon Valley in Montgomery County.
⛳. Longtime Merck executive Ken Frazier — who grew up in an economically disadvantaged Philadelphia neighborhood but later graduated from Harvard University and rose to become one of the few remaining Black CEOs of a major corporation — will retire on June 30.
Opinions
“The only reason for the long process of amending the constitution to grant justice for victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests is that Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a bill to create a two-year window to allow for claims that are too old. Currently, the law bars victims of childhood sexual assault from suing after they turn 30,” — the Inquirer Editorial Board, a group of journalists who operate separately from the newsroom, writes about justice being denied for victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests.
When an army of reddit traders launched a surgical attack on Wall Street last week, author Bruno Maçães wrote for City Journal, it was a declaration of class war.
“So the biggest China policy question is whether Biden can, as he put it, `reclaim our credibility’ as a global leader. The stakes are immensely high,” columnist Trudy Rubin writes.
What we’re reading
After 20 years of owning a car in Philly, Philly Mag’s Victor Fiorillo says he finally picked a side in the no-savesies war.
A very Philly “marriage selfie mural” will be installed next week at the Register of Wills’ Wedding License Bureau in Room 415 of City Hall so it’s up in time for Valentine’s Day.