News & Brews August 10, 2021
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Debate over vaccine mandates continues
Remember the days when people thought you were nuts for suggesting anyone would need a COVID vaccine passport to go about their daily lives? Well, here we are. Beginning this week, Allegheny County is requiring all new county employees to be vaccinated (apparently COVID doesn’t spread as easily among current employees because of union contracts). Over in Philly, the teachers’ union just came out in support of vaccine mandates for school employees. And in central PA, PennLive looks at how restaurant owners feel about requiring proof of vaccine from customers (spoiler alert: they’re generally not too keen on it).
Editorial: Let’s make stuff up!
Ok, so maybe that’s my title for the piece. The Inquirer Editorial Board gushes with thanksgiving that Gov. Wolf at least isn’t as bad at handling COVID as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (forget that PA has more COVID deaths per million residents than Florida). But that’s not good enough. Wolf should aim to reach the quality of leadership of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (ummm) and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. The Inky must have overlooked that Jersey just became the first state to hit 3,000 COVID deaths per million (far more than FL or TX), and if Jersey were a country, only Hungary and Peru would pass it in deaths per million. But by all means, Wolf should strive for such leadership.
Wolf admin goes on vaccine promotion blitz
Spotlight PA reports that Gov. Wolf’s administration “is trying county fairs, text messages, and door-knocking” to try to convince folks to get vaccinated, but with “slow coming” success. The story notes that this afternoon, “Wolf is expected to announce a new initiative to boost vaccinations,” but as of last evening, “additional details were not available.”
PA’s chunk of infrastructure bill?
We’ve come to know that ‘infrastructure’ is in the eye of the beholder, but the Inquirer looks at what Washington’s latest spending plans could mean for Pennsylvania—and it goes beyond roads and bridges.