Philly’s vaccine scandal is eroding trust | Morning Newsletter
And, Castor’s road map for the impeachment trial.
The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning from The Inquirer newsroom.
The snow might not be done with us yet. Another storm could be coming by the end of the weekend. Check out our photos showing how Philly scraped, painted, and played in the largest snow here in five years.
First: The Philly Fighting COVID cautionary tale only makes the effort to overcome hesitancy among Black residents that much harder.
Then: Here’s where Trump’s defense lawyers for his impeachment trial are headed.
And: The Philadelphia School District might rely on window fans for schools with poor ventilation, and teachers and parents have concerns.
— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
After the city severed ties with Philly Fighting COVID after the exposure of the for-profit arm that jolted national attention, advocates say the debacle has complicated the vaccination outreach effort. Community leaders talked to us about how this scandal impacts the fight against years of the Black community’s distrust in medicine.
“It’s been tough, because the purpose was for us to be in Black communities where the impact had been the greatest. We’re providing vaccines to a community that has been reticent, and making it easier,” veteran physician Ala Stanford told reporter Aubrey Whelan.
As people deserted Philly Fighting COVID, it gave Stanford’s physician-run group the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium a new burden: shifts in demand undermining outreach efforts. For leaders in the push to make vaccine accessibility more equitable in Philly, this just makes everything they’ve been working toward harder.
Here’s what health-care and community leaders are actively doing to try to reach some of our city’s most vulnerable residents now.
Trump’s latest legal challenge is a big one.
His new lawyer and former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. along with David Schoen are defending him in the upcoming impeachment trial. The nine Democratic House impeachment managers have accused Trump of a “betrayal of historic proportions,” and the odds of making Trump the first president to be convicted of high crimes and misdemeanors ever are steep.
Now we have a preview of the defense. The brief filed yesterday calls the article of impeachment “flawed,” doubling down on Trump’s nonstop false claims of election fraud. They also give plenty of airtime to the constitutionality of impeaching a former president and Trump’s rights to free speech.
Reporters Jeremy Roebuck and Jonathan Tamari have the story on the clearest road map to the trial yet.
Helpful COVID-19 Resources
Philly will open six mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics and doses are also coming to city pharmacies.
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.
How to avoid COVID-19 vaccine scams.
What you need to know today
There’s been a surge in carjackings in recent months, and police don’t know why yet.
Five employees who got fired for raising concerns about the way the employer was handling COVID-19 are suing now.
Who’s job is it to shovel the snow? These are the rules.
The pandemic hasn’t stopped people from having risky sex, but there are fewer STD test kits now, experts say. Here’s how they’re handling the STD kit situation.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Get in, we’re going on a snow walkabout with this guy’s gallery. Thanks for sharing, @michael_defiore.
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
🍴 Get warm. We’ve listed some deliciously hot dishes to order, like a sizzling bubbly raclette.
⚾ J.T. Realmuto takes a swing at Phillies’ bullpen questions in 2021.
🖥️ Meet the West Philly activist whom Facebook restricted for unknown reasons as the platform raced to pick up the pieces after the Capitol riots.
🐕 Philly will have strong representation at the Super Bowl this Sunday. See you on the 50-yard line for the sporting event of the year, puppies.
Opinion
“Philadelphians should at least be able to trust that leaders will make good on promises to correct past mistakes, not attempt to justify them months after the fact.” — organizer Abdul-Aliy Muhammad and Penn Community for Justice founder Amelia Carter write that the recent report just gave Philly more reasons not to trust police.
Window fans for the ventilation crisis in schools amidst an airborne pandemic is just not scientifically sound, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry T. Jordan writes.
Columnist Trudy Rubin writes why Trump isn’t the only one on trial now. The impeachment trial will decide if GOP senators want to be remembered as “poisoners of democracy” too.
What we’re reading
Slate calls it early. Judas and the Black Messiah is not just one of the best movies of 2021 already, it’s an essential corrective to The Trial of the Chicago 7.
All of your takeout containers are very pricey for restaurants, the Boston Globe reports.
Here’s an ironclad case for keeping festive lights up all year, from The Week.
A CHOP nurse who adopted her first foster child at 22 started a camp that reunites siblings who have been separated by foster care. She just got a $100,000 grant and has her eyes set on an in-person camp in the future.