A scrappy drugstore steps in with vaccines | Morning Newsletter
And, what’s closed today for the snow day.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning from The Inquirer newsroom.
First: Independent pharmacies are increasingly vital in the vaccine effort. Here’s a look at a Horsham operation making it happen.
Then: Maybe the sky was “saving it.” This is the snow Philly braced for. See photos of how the snowfall went down. And follow Inquirer.com for live updates on the weather.
And: Donald Trump chose former Montco District Attorney Bruce Castor to defend him at Senate impeachment trial.
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🧠 What should we talk about next?
— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Independent pharmacies are taking on a larger role in ending this pandemic, and they’re only becoming more vital to the effort to get people vaccinated quicker. Giving vaccinations is looking lucrative for mammoth drugstore chains with federal contracts. Independent pharmacies may not do so hot. That’s not stopping them from stepping in and offering everyone a batch of good news because it’s the right thing to do.
We talked to people at a suddenly swamped Montco pharmacy about setup hurdles, delivering the vaccine, all those incoming queries, what’s covered, what’s not, and that tricky certification process. People are signing up with multiple vaccine providers, so cancellations are expected. And for a pharmacy that knows its longtime customers, sometimes people nearby will get a last-minute call.
But the true payoff for the pharmacy is tales of gratitude like these.
The city was ready for today’s snow levels.
Philly officials announced a “snow emergency” yesterday so expect some closures today. Even vaccination appointments may have to move. State offices? Closed. NJ Transit and bus? Suspended. Even that old rule stickler the Philadelphia School District is knowingly transitioning by midday to “independent assignments” a.k.a. snow angels. The school system of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will close for the day after returning to in-person instruction. Trash collection in Philly today? No dice. More snow is predicted today. After that, there’s a chance the snow will let up. In fact, it could pivot to your favorite song of winter, a “wintry mix,” and it may even stop.
Snow, like life, according to Al Pacino in his Any Given Sunday speech, is a game of inches. We’ve got the latest on the accumulation.
Helpful COVID-19 Resources
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.
How can I protect myself?
What you need to know today
Chemotherapy tackles a new frontier: home treatment. There’s a new Penn Medicine program making chemotherapy possible at home, or even on the go, with a backpack.
Donald Trump picked former Montco District Attorney Bruce Castor to defend him at the Senate impeachment trial.
What a week for Scott Perry. Here’s everything you need to know about him, his association with Trump’s election plot, and Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Camden firefighters discovered a woman fatally stabbed while they were responding to a smoke detector alarm.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Good things come in threes. Thanks for sharing @foreverphillyphotos.
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
⚾ By keeping J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius, the Phillies successfully kept the band together. But what happens now?
📚 The always impressive Laura Dern portrays the mom in photographer Jona Frank’s photographic and imaginative new memoir, Cherry Hill: A Childhood Reimagined. Her portrayal will be two-dimensional on the page. So, imagine her vocals.
🏫 The application numbers show that colleges dropping standardized test score requirements for fall 2021 admission is empowering students who don’t test as well.
Opinions
“People are exhausted, confused, and angry. And, as we saw this past week, they appear atypically united in their rage toward the forces that have made life very tough for all but the very affluent.” — columnist Maria Panaritis writes the latest shakeups such as the GameStop table-turning tell us that underdogs are getting a bit bored of this power dynamic.
Cancel Philly’s ongoing incompetence show because no one is buying the “duped city” act, columnist Helen Ubiñas writes.
A certain recent president inadvertently gave artists who worked to make the world brighter the oxygen they needed, our classical music critic Peter Dobrin writes.
What we’re reading
Rolling Stone remembers Sophie, the vibrant electro pop producer who died at 34.
The New York Times talked to M. Night Shyamalan and his 21-year-old daughter, Ishana, who made her directorial debut with her latest episode of his show, Servant. The Philly-set series was as heavy on the terror as it was on Neapolitan pizza and generous wine pours.
That English man previously named Thomas Dodd who really got to drinking on Christmas Eve and changed his name to Celine Dion. Like his heart, this name will go on, Birmingham Live reports.
Your Daily Dose of | Forever
This is the story of a long-lasting marriage that started when the pair just knew they had something to hold onto back in college.