Hello and welcome to PBS.

Thursday night, a WLVT community update on Corona residents presented by Capital Blue Cross and brought to you with help from our communty partner Lehigh Valley Health Network.

We are live from the PPE Public Media Center in Bethlehem Brittany Sweeney.

Our guests today include a pediatric infectious disease doctor to discuss kids coming back to the classroom.

We'll also meet someone who served on a task force that studied pandemic response in our area.

Our guests will be with us in just a moment.

If you have a question, please give us a call.

The phone numbers 4 8 4 8 2 1 0 0 0 8.

And we will answer some of your questions live, plus our daily coronavirus updates.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter.

You can do that at our website coronavirus Lehigh Valley .org.

You can find helpful information there in both English and Spanish.

Now let's take a look at today's top headlines.

Governor Tom Wolf said today that the state has provided a total of 3.9 million vaccine doses.

This effort puts PA second in the country for a number of doses per 100,000 people over the last week, he said.

Additionally, the state Health Department today reported 3455 new positive cases of coronavirus and 35 new deaths.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is expanding the way they get vaccines out to the community.

Then at Toyota and Allentown donated three new vehicles to take the shots to those who can't otherwise get to a clinic.

The new s._u._v.s are detailed with the words vaccine vehicle and are now being used to take Covid-19 vaccinations to more people.

St Luke's University Health Network will now allow in-person visits from family and friends to the skilled nursing facility at the minors campus.

President Wendy Lazo says families need to schedule their visits at the facility in Coaldale in-person visits have not been allowed since October.

Lazo says 94% of their long term residents are fully vaccinated and they have no current cases of Covid-19.

St Luke's also now offers a Spanish over the phone vaccine scheduling system.

Shot line is an outbound dialing system serving patients age 65 and older.

An automated voice first asks if the patient would like to receive a vaccine if yes, the voice offers appointment time slots three at a time at various locations.

Now to access that system, you can call 1 8 6 6 7 8 5 8 5 3 7 and the Bradberry Sullivan LGB Cue Center and Allentown is vaccinating those in the LGBTQ community today.

All 200 spots have been filled, including several self-identified non-binary community members.

The center says they've seen some hesitance of these community members in particular to deal with medical forms and health care providers in the past.

Bradberry Sullivan teamed up with LVHN to hold the Covid Vaccine Clinic.

Let's meet our guests for the day doctor to Villalobos is a pediatric infectious disease doctor.

She's been with us before, so we thank her for joining us once again.

Also with us today is Kevin Murphy of the Berks County Community Foundation.

Thank you both so much for joining.

Kevin, we will be back with you in just a few minutes.

We're going to start today with Dr Villa Lobos.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having me today.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Absolutely, Doctor.

Many schools are bringing children back to in-person classes for five days a week.

Now the CDC today changed its physical distancing guidelines for schools from six feet to now three feet, something we expected.

But how do you feel about this guideline change?

Let's start there today.

Bo?

Yes.

So that is very good news for the parents, for the children.

A little forward providers in the network have been advising the different school districts in the area for months.

On the larger to school district.

These open the CDC came up in reviewing data from a study in Boston that called for different schools that they want to have these six feet separation.

And they wonder how they treat this separation.

And they didn't find any difference in the number of cases of Covid knighting is spreading to those schools.

So that made them at least for the elementaries school to start with you seems safe.

That's why they treated this as good CFT separation.

And that's very important for the larger schools that have brought in accommodating all the students face to face is they don't have the space.

So I think that is a reasonable but also that has to do with the prevalence community is you prevalence in the community is high.

You can no go to the briefing.

That's all that, you know, has to where they must have teams or other measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Sure.

Dr Villalobos, what other things can kids do now that they weren't able to do with that six foot guideline now that they have the three four guideline, can they move desks closer?

Is there certain things they can do?

I guess walk closer in the hall, that kind of thing?

I seem will be allowed to do participation in group that they were not allowed to do group activities that were that require cheering.

They workspace.

And I was not allowed.

Are you certainly can't have more children.

Third classroom that I think that will help them to work jointly in the learning experience.

However, these extensive testing applied to practice or any kind of activity that includes singing boys theme band practice, anything require extra breathing and then air is chance that is still will not allow for the separation within three feet.

And as we just mentioned, many of the schools in our area are making a plan to bring kids back to school maybe four days a week at at least four days a week in April.

And so what's your guideline for the teachers and parents?

What should we be telling them right now to make sure we're mitigating that risk and keeping that risk low as our kids head back to school Gamma So for the families.

My advice really of first and foremost, do not send the kids to a school if they seat like we did in the bus or is they happy exposed to anybody with Covid?

We still Coaldale Macungie.

The movie is still seeing those notes as many we have.

Flat out Our number of cases has been steadily coming down.

So by this new child has been exposed to anybody anywhere with Covid even though it doesn't have any symptoms.

Do not send to a school for the schools.

I think he's very reassurance that now the teachers are on the tire that they want to receive the right reitzes sooner than later.

So that also said early years or prediction the teacher would be more protective and they feel more secure about being in the classroom teaching face to face.

I cannot stress enough that being in common areas, that being in the hallways, being in the cafeteria is still require these setpiece these stands for everybody.

Sure.

Dr Villalobos.

I just want to go back really quickly to parents and sending kids to school.

I know that can be a gray area.

When do you send them?

When do you not?

What's your advice in cases that even one symptom, one runny nose you don't send them or should you be looking out for that fever or, you know, vomiting or something like that?

I would say no.

Do you have to have the order symptoms?

You may be just make a lot Rachel Levine which go which may not even happen there, but they may have a syndrome, a little thing do have gi's symptom.

They have abdominal pain.

They may have re-ups.

So I think before you send the kid to school, consult with your pediatrician, would you probably therapy show mooses is really safe to say to child to a school having those symptoms or this is better to keep it at home.

Also, I think this is something that is going to be gradual.

A lot of the party chose to keep the children to a school in not in person, even when they have that choice.

And now it's daily chores that know to send their kids to school.

But choose not to do that.

Sure.

And Dr Phil, all of us, just to clarify, OK, so if your kids seem sick, don't send them to school.

The new guideline, 3 feet of social distancing, but they still need their masks on now, correct?

Absolutely.

So the mask has to be where our old time where they are in school.

Yes.

Believe it or not, the Georgia Children's Hungry.

Very good.

I mean, the new kids that Estella's last year, they don't know anything differet.

They were mask all day long because that's why they have been and that's why they see that you're doing everything from this period from the smaller schools are all kids to our pre-school, private pre-school, our day-care center.

They have preschoolers.

They have not been an increase or a number of cases or even outbreaks in those setting, even though we're dealing with jeweler to let's move on to vaccinations.

Trials are under way right now with kids.

Currently the guideline is that kids 16 and older can get the vaccination, but they're hoping to have a vaccine ready for kids.

When do you think that vaccine will roll out?

Do you think it'll be in time for next school year this fall Gamma We have very exciting news actually about it in children's clinical trials now Pfizer on whether or not they have the trials where the older children are having going since December.

So those trials with children 12 unravel a currently they FISA Reitzes, they only approved for children 16 and older.

They are under there is normal.

The vaccine choice for the younger kids.

But we think that the trials that have included older children 12 years to 17, we may have got Soma and we may have vaccine available by the time this year it starts in default and now then used today.

Is that more they're now have and they start their environmental trials that include younger children from most to 12 years.

So this is a huge trial that is going to do over 6000 Sugar Grove in the United States and Canada.

And that will provide information for the safety and efficacy for the younger children.

So this just came out and is just great news for the pediatric community.

And there Academy of Pediatrics totally support that initial people have enjoyed our children enrolled in the clinical trials.

And Doctor, we have a viewer question that could be helpful to our audience out there, both adults and children.

This is Richard from Easton and he's saying he tested positive for Covid, but he has no fever, no cough, no temperature.

He says he's quarantined for 10 days.

So his question his question now is should he quarantine until he has a negative test?

Does he need that negative test to go back to his regular activities or is he in the clear?

Do repeat this thing is not recommended to clear.

They may be some workplaces that may require that, but the standard is that you do have Rickover if you are symptom free after 10 days, you don't require any testing to go back to.

Great.

Thank you for answering that.

I wanted to get back to the immunizations once immunized adults and kids alike.

What's the likelihood that they'll need a booster anytime soon?

Do we know that answer yet?

Is this something we're going to have to do every single year or is this good for years to come?

We don't know yet.

We don't know how long the immunity last about scenes.

We don't only see like moldering children or is there any longer.

In July, Cooper to the elderly.

We also are now dealing with the issue of the variance.

Are the vaccines going to cover or produce immunity?

Is there a new variant that coming out every day so we don't have an answer whether it's going to be two doses this year and that would be, you know, for some reason to protect you or who would be like a flu vaccine that changes every day, every year adapting to this strain does simply it would winter.

So we don't have an answer.

Get to that.

Dr Villalobos, we've talked extensively at the beginning of the school year during the classroom.

I know that you've been an advocate to get kids back into the classroom.

What kind of mental toll has this taken on many of the kids that you've seen in person when it comes to kids who aren't in school?

What kind of mental emotional kind of toll is this taking on our children?

So after years of kids not being able to participate in their regular activities in their sport, the globe, this social interaction that they need because there have been an increasing mental.

All across the ages.

I mean, we have seen the increase in adolescent depression over those same using Tensing's has increased.

We see it every day in hour to the hospital.

There is somebody I mean it every night either through our ICU or to our regular floor with a mental illness issue that require prompt attention.

So yes, we have taken it all in the mental health of our two rounds.

And that's one of the reasons why you weigh the risks and the benefits bringing the kid back to school.

And if only to provide them with a regular environment and an auditory environment that may thing grow emotionally is as important as their physical health.

And I think this room.

And I do say I'm an advocate to getting the kids to school safely with all the measures that we can provide that, you know, we're fortunate in the valley that our school district muscle thing comes away with on the school safely to more so that you're doctor.

Before we let you go, we have one more viewer question for you.

It's kind of a broad question.

This is Roxann from Bethlehem.

She's asking if visiting nurses from LVHN would be giving out vaccines or if she can find that information somewhere, you could find that information or websites.

So no, with a program that you just mentioned that there are cards that aren't going to go out and provide vaccines to the people that for them.

We own or access they don't have to put visual don't have the means to go to the vaccine side.

We're going to them.

So that will be the rules to our many nurses.

Nurses all across the board.

It doesn't matter what you work that in the time they volunteering to provide.

I've seen it over vaccine centers.

Wonderful.

From Lehigh Valley Riley Children's Hospital, Doctor Tibi Villalobos, thank you as always for joining us today.

Thank you so much.

Always a pleasure, Albright.

Have a great weekend.

And we continue this community update on coronavirus on PBS39.

You can hear the rebroadcast on the radio tonight 9:30 on 90 1 3 WLVT.

Now let's bring in our next guest now.

Kevin Murphy is president of the Berks County Community Foundation.

Recently he served on a task force that examined pandemic response in Berks County.

Kevin, it's great to have you join this program today.

Thank you.

Brittany, thanks for having.

Absolutely, Kevin.

Can you tell us why this task force was created and who was part.

Let's start there.

Sure.

As we marched through the last 12 months, towards the end of last year, we began to think about how many different community systems had to be involved in making a response to the pandemic that worked for Berks County.

And we thought it was important to hold some of those systems together and ask what we're what did and what resources do you wish you had had?

What could we do to be better prepared the next time we brought together a very broad based group of leaders from government health and human services sectors from private philanthropy, from the business community and did this project in partnership with the United Berks County and the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance.

Great.

And so that was formed in August of 2020 since then.

What have you learned?

What are some of the findings there recently?

Reported?

Well, we conducted a survey of a much broader group of community leaders to ask those same questions and then the task force boiled that down really into eight recommendations in really three categories.

The first category is focuses on the public health infrastructure, both of the state and local level and how that should be strengthened to have us be better prepared for public health crises like this.

Second set really were a number of recommendations around communications and technology, how we were able to communicate with each other during the crisis.

But also I think laid bare the fact that we don't have really good understanding of who has access to broadband technology and who doesn't.

And that this crisis made it clear that that's not a luxury, it's a lifeline.

And then the third set or actually single recommendation was around revisiting the way we distribute food in the community.

That system came under enormous stress when the demand for food support doubled in a week of this time last year.

And so it's a comprehensive set of recommendations.

The task force did a great job of looking at the data.

Great.

So what are some of the key findings about that report?

What are some of the things that you're going to be initiating moving forward?

Well, one of the things we think it's time for in Berks County is a conversation about the merits and the costs and the benefits of having a local health department.

Most governmental functions in this country have a federal level of state level at a local level were all familiar with the FBI at the federal level, the Pennsylvania state police at the state level.

And we have local police that operate at the local level Berks County.

We don't have a local health department.

And while that's a big undertaking, we think it's time for the community to have that conversation at the state level.

We think it's time for communities to come together and advocate for different type of public health policies in the Commonwealth.

We have one of the most one of the smallest state health departments in the United States.

I'm told it has fewer employees than the Philadelphia Department of Health.

I'm not sure.

Pennsylvanians feel real comfortable about how this hack was handled in Pennsylvania and it's time to have that conversation.

Harrisburg Schwank.

Do you think that's something that Berks County would be able to support at this time?

I think the we you know, we go back to the three partners here, the Chamber of Commerce of the United Way and the Community Foundation.

We all have counter-parts all across the Commonwealth who are dealing with the same questions we're dealing with.

And it's time to get them together and talk about how do we collect Lee, think about a different public health structure than the one that we've been operating with.

Kevin, is the Berks County Covid-19 Response Task Force something that we'll continue to look at the effects of this pandemic for months and even years to come?

Or was this kind of a one and done type thing Gamma Well, I promise, although it was one and done thing, but I also have all of their cell phone numbers.

So we'll meet each of the recommendations had a sort of an assigned lead organization to it.

And these organizations talk to each other frequently and work together regularly.

So they'll probably call on each other as all this develops.

I think there may come a time where we stop and ask ourselves how we did with the second phase of this, the vaccine phase.

But I've been really proud of how Berks County organizations have stepped up that now the issue here really has not been our ability to deliver the vaccine as much as it's been the delivery of getting the vaccine into Berks County from federal and state sources.

Sure, that seems to be the issue across the states.

It seems like it's being alleviated a little and getting better day by day.

But we've heard that time and time again from other outlets as well.

So what are some of the resources people can take advantage of Berks County right now if they need Covid information, whether it be a vaccine or just regular Covid guidelines?

Is there?

Is there a resource for them there?

So one of the things that we highlighted that was very effective was the county government Kenny Berks government set up a website called Stop Spread and that's been a great source of local information.

They did a super job with we encouraged them to keep that going.

We also have in the past few years really built the capacity of our 2 1 system.

So if people need referral to information or to services, they can dial 2 1 1.

One of the things we're beginning to work on now is how to communicate to the community more broadly about the issue of vaccine hesitation and particularly some of our sub communities where that might be a bigger problem.

How do we communicate to them that the vaccines are safe, they're effective, that we owe it to each other to get vaccinated and that this is not, you know, there's a lot of sort of unfortunately internet myths about these vaccines that are true.

And we think hearing from trusted local voices is important.

Absolutely.

And one of those trusted voices, of course, is the Berks County Community Foundation.

Can you just touch upon what the mission is there and how it's changed over the course of let this last year during the pandemic?

Well, it's my first pandemic, the Shore Community Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life for the residents of Berks County and to promote philanthropy.

And that's pretty broad.

And it takes us into a lot of areas.

One of the things that can foundation often does is encourage the community to think about the real long term planning that sits ahead of it.

What do we want to look like as a community, 25, 30, 50 years from now?

The past year hasn't been about the past year has been about making connection between organizations that want to come together to do good work but haven't met each other.

It's been about finding resources in the early days of all of this I was scrambling around borrowing trucks for the transport food and identifying where we could find some CDC l streets drivers that might be available to help out with that.

So it's been a lot more day to day work of putting brush fires, dealing with misinformation and just making sure that people have access to other resources that exist in the community.

Sure, sure.

And as we marked the one year since the lockdown of the Crown virus pandemic, we've been asking people how their lives have changed both both personally and professionally.

How would you say that your life has changed?

Well, I've learned to work remotely.

You know, I'm a business.

It's a very high relationship.

Business.

I mean, I very seldom have lunch by myself.

Well, usually a breakfast by myself.

I mean, there's always a donor to be meeting with or a grantee to be talking with.

And we've learned to work remotely, have learned what a fantastic team might have because they really stepped up to the plate.

And of course, my wife and I have learned to appreciate the property that we live and live on a small farm, more nuts and that much time on it.

And the whole 27 years we live there.

Everybody, I think that key thing you said there is learn to work from home.

I think everybody has kind of pivoted and learned to do their job in a different way during this pandemic.

For sure.

Kevin, we do have a viewer question for you.

They're asking about resources for the vaccine Berks County.

Where can someone go if you know, where can they go to find an appointment and get scheduled for that vaccine?

What would be the best resource you would suggest to them?

Well, so our major health systems, Tower Hill and Penn State St Joseph have online portals that allow you to sign up.

You don't have to be a patient of either of those health systems very shortly.

I believe the Berks community Health Center will have that online as they're going to start a Max Matt mass vaccination clinic in Muhlenberg Township in partnership with our county government.

Also for any people who are K 12 workers that is working in a school to 12 school, whether it's public or private, they can contact the Berks County Intermediate unit because that is overseeing the administration of the Johnson and Johnson vaccines and CVS and leave Rite Aid are administered.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccines for pre-school and pre-K workers.

Wonderful.

Kevin, thank you so much for answering the other questions.

Kevin Murphy of the Berks County Community Foundation.

Thank you so much for joining today.

All right.

And we want to thank our guests for being with us today.

We want to thank you for watching community update on coronavirus.

We'll be here at 4pm each Monday, Wednesday and Friday on PBS.

39.

And on the radio at 9:30, those same nights on WLVT News, we'll be back Monday at 4:00 to discuss more about vaccine and the battle against Covid-19.

If you have a question, you can leave it at our website, PBS.

39 .org or on social media or give us a call and leave it there.

The phone number is 44 8 2 1 0 0 0 8.

We're always open to your questions for PBS39 and WLVT news.

I'm Brittany Sweeney Stacee Stac