Since Philadelphia has entered Phase 1b of priority COVID-19 vaccine distribution, hospitals in major health networks, such as Penn Medicine, Temple Health and Einstein, have begun vaccinating high-risk patients.

Some people considered high-risk due to their age (75+) or those with such chronic medical conditions as cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and organ transplant patients, may have already received a call from their doctor about scheduling a COVID vaccine appointment.

But it may take many weeks before all people in this priority group are vaccinated. There are tens of thousands of high-risk patients in each large health network and the vaccine supply has been limited so far (although it is expected to increase in the coming weeks). For example, Temple Health currently receives about 1,000 doses a week and Penn Medicine gets between 1,500 and 2,000 doses a week, according to WHYY.  Continue Reading

Local non-profit Sharing Excess will be back in Malcolm X Park this Saturday, Jan. 30 and every Saturday in February to distribute food to the community for free.

Folks from Sharing Excess will be on the corner of 52nd and Pine on Saturdays beginning at Noon until everything is gone (for about an hour-and-a-half at most). The organization will have hundreds of grocery boxes containing produce, milk, eggs, cheese and meat to give out to the community.  Continue Reading

The School District of Philadelphia announced today its plan to return to the hybrid learning model, which offers a mix of in-person and digital learning to students. The District will reopen its schools for students in pre-K through second grade on Feb. 22 and will slowly phase in older students after that (no additional dates have been announced yet).

Students opting into hybrid learning will attend school in person two days per week – on their assigned days only – and engage in digital learning the remaining three days.

In the fall, families were asked to choose between the hybrid model or 100 percent digital learning. More than 9,000 families chose the hybrid model, whish later was postponed until further notice due to a spike in coronavirus cases in the city. Pre-K-2 students whose families selected hybrid learning during the initial selection process in the fall will phase in first.  Continue Reading

The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative has launched recruitment for a new job training program in partnership with PIDC’s Navy Yard Workforce Development Initiatives. This is their first collaborative professional development program that will train West and South Philadelphia residents for permanent, full-time, quality-wage careers.

Four Seasons Total Landscaping, a certified women-owned business founded in 1992, is the first employer partner at the Navy Yard to participate in the program. It will offer opportunities for graduates to interview for laborer positions starting at $14/hour.

The program is a cohort-based training model that will blend virtual courses and in-person sessions (with high COVID-19 safety compliance) to train for two roles: Grounds Maintenance Laborers earning $14/hour, and Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Laborers earning $18.98/hour.  Continue Reading

UPDATE (1/26/2021): The City is no longer partnering with Philly Fighting COVID (PFC) and is asking those who had pre-registered for the COVID-19 vaccine through PFC to re-register on their website.

The city is preparing to open more COVID-19 mass vaccination sites, including high schools, public libraries, places of worship, and other big venues, according to Philadelphia Health Department spokesperson James Garrow. If a neighborhood doesn’t have a big venue, the city may set up mobile vaccination units with specially trained staff.

So far, thousands of Philly residents, mostly health care workers not affiliated with hospitals, have been vaccinated against COVID at a mass vaccination clinic located at Philadelphia Convention Center. This site was run by Philly Fighting COVID.

To pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine, residents can submit their contact information and some personal details including age, occupation and health condition, on the newly launched city-run website: https://covid-vaccine-interest.phila.gov/. You will be contacted about an appointment when the vaccine is available to you.  Continue Reading

Community members have a chance to learn more about recent gunpoint robberies in the neighborhoods of Garden Court, Cedar Park and other parts of the University City area (see more info here) and receive safety tips at an emergency follow-up meeting with the 18th Police District. The meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m.

The first meeting was held last Friday, but many people were not able to participate due to limited capacity. Monday’s meeting will not have a capacity limit, according to Shamssadeen Baukman, a community relations officer for the 18th District.  Continue Reading