Public school teachers and staff were supposed to return to school buildings today ahead of the students’ return to schools as part of the School District’s hybrid learning plan set to launch on Feb. 22. However, as instructed by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) on Feb. 4, the staff didn’t report to school buildings due to COVID safety concerns.

Since the District has announced the return to the hybrid learning model, which includes a partial instruction inside school buildings, the opposition to the plan has been mounting. PFT has issued a few statements opposing the plan until building safety conditions are met.  Continue Reading

UPDATE (2/7/2021, 5:00 p.m.): The snow emergency has been lifted.

(2/6/2021): Another snowstorm is expected to hit the Philadelphia area this Sunday, with accumulations from 3 to 6 inches. In preparation for the storm, the city has declared a snow emergency beginning at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 7. If your vehicle is parked on a snow emergency route you must move it before 6 a.m.. The list of snow emergency routes can be found here.

If your car has been towed, please call 215-686-SNOW to locate it.

Here are some other important announcements:  Continue Reading

The COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic, previously run by Philly Fighting COVID (PFC), reopened in Philadelphia’s Convention Center earlier this week. The City’s Department of Public Health is now running the clinic. The clinic’s goal is to administer second vaccine doses to people, mostly health care workers, who received their first doses last month at the PFC-run clinic.

Starting the week of February 22nd, the city is planning to open more mass COVID vaccination clinics, according to Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley. There will be three first-dose clinics and three second-dose clinics per week. The city’s health department workers will be reaching out to people who had pre-registered on the COVID-19 Vaccine Interest website about scheduling an appointment at one of the clinics. Also, people without internet access can now pre-register via the city’s COVID Call Center at (215) 685-5488.  Continue Reading

Rite Aid and Shoprite pharmacies will soon begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations to Philadelphians ages 75 and older, according to reports. Senior citizens who are interested in receiving a COVID vaccine can either pre-register online at a city-run website and then get notified about an appointment or call a hotline (215) 685-5488.

CVS Pharmacy has been vaccinating people at nursing homes and assisted living facilities for a few weeks now, and is not expected to offer vaccinations to the general public until April or May, according to a report by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

COVID-19 vaccinations at Rite Aid and Shoprite are expected to begin next week. People will have to travel to their appointment (vaccinations will not be provided for homebound residents).

Philadelphia area hospitals have also begun vaccinating patients considered high-risk against COVID, which includes people who are 75 or older. You can read more about this here.

UPDATE (2/1/2021): The snow emergency declared by the city on Sunday remains in effect until Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 10 a.m. The City has suspended trash/recycling collection for this Monday and Tuesday (please wait until next Monday and Tuesday for your materials to be picked up). Public schools will again meet virtually on Tuesday morning and then have asynchronous instruction in the afternoon, according to a new announcement by the Philadelphia School District.

1/31/2021: The City has declared a Snow Emergency, effective Sunday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m., due to a major snowstorm expected in the area. Snow Emergency means that all vehicles parked along snow emergency routes, must be moved off the street. When moving your car, please park as far from the corner of the street as possible. The list of the city’s snow emergency routes can be found here. If your car has been towed please call 215-686-SNOW.

Public schools will meet virtually as usual in the morning and then turn to asynchronous instruction in the afternoon, according to a School District of Philadelphia announcement.

The City has also suspended all trash/recycling pickup for Monday, Feb. 1. Monday’s collection is postponed until next Monday, Feb. 8.  Continue Reading

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