Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that teachers will receive doses of the newly approved one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, under a plan his administration will release.
In a news conference on a separate topic, Wolf said his administration's plan will be released Wednesday.
He gave few details, but said he and a bipartisan legislative task force agreed that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be set aside for teachers and then other workers considered to be essential, but who are not included in the first vaccination phase.
“There’s some really important front-line workers who I think and I think the task force believes, on a bipartisan basis, should be included in that, like teachers and, not too far down the road, like child care workers, and police, and fire, grocery store workers, bus drivers," Wolf said.
State officials expect 94,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to arrive this week as school districts face pressure to bring students back to classrooms for in-person instruction. Education groups say vaccinating school staff is an “absolutely essential” step toward reopening schools and keeping them open.
The state is still in Phase 1A of its vaccine plan, offering the shots to people age 65 and over and younger people with high-risk medical conditions — a population that numbers around 4 million.
Teachers currently are grouped in Phase 1B.
The Three Rivers Arts Festival will return in June as a hybrid of virtual and in-person events
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust made the announcement today. Last year’s festival was all virtual due to the pandemic, but the 2021 edition will feature some limited-capacity in-person events at indoor and outdoor venues yet to be determined Downtown. Bill O'Driscoll reports none of those events will be in traditional gathering spots like Point State Park or Gateway Center, the Trust said. In-person events will also be accessible online.
Pittsburgh City Council passes eviction moratorium
It requires landlords to renew leases even for tenants who haven't paid rent if the failure to pay is a result of the coronavirus. Ariel Worthy reports the bill does allow landlords to remove tenants who've damaged property or engaged in crime. And landlords can evict renters if they prove a failure to pay rent isn't due to the coronavirus.
The Commission on Human Relations will oversee those cases. The moratorium expires once the city lifts its declaration of emergency.
LATEST NUMBERS
Allegheny County:
- 200 new cases
- 1 new death
Pennsylvania:
- 2,564 new cases
- 74 new deaths
- 1,715 patients hospitalized
- 366 patients in ICU
- 2,483,631 doses of vaccine administered
