Fears, myths and realities.

Tonight, PBS39 proudly presents a community conversate Covid-19 vaccines.

In fact, versus fiction.

Now here's your host health reporter Brittany Sweeney good evening and thank you for joining us.

We are live from the PPE Public Media Center in Bethlehem to date over 450,000 people have died in the US because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now a method of defenses here.

The Covid-19 vaccine.

But what do we know about the shot that's been developed in less than a year?

And when will most of us have it Gamma Tonight we get some answers during this special interactive presentation, we will discuss everything from vaccine delivery and safety to issues related to reopening schools.

And are writes as an employee, if you're required to be vaccinated, we have a lot to get to with our panel of doctors and other experts.

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The phone number is 40 4 8 2 1 0 0 0 8.

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The vaccines brought hopes of a beginning to the end of a year long pandemic.

But now there's frustration and in some cases fear.

Here's what we know so far about the rollouts of the Covid-19 innoculate shin through yesterday nearly 1.3 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Pennsylvania.

That includes more than 800,000 people who have gotten first doses and over 200,000 who have received both.

The Department of Health today reported 3370 new coronavirus cases and 146 more deaths in total.

There's been nearly 850 7000 cases NPA and 22,100 and one people have died.

Everything is needed to protect test, vaccinate and take care of our people.

Answering frustration over vaccine shortages, President Joe Biden announced the US will ramp up deliveries to states over the next three weeks.

He said his administration is working to buy an additional 200 million doses and hopes to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of summer.

He's calling the push a, quote, wartime effort, but it also has the nation's top scientists and public health experts regularly briefing the American public about the pandemic, providing the American people with the facts they need about the crisis in our response.

Experts are hosting briefings three times a week on the status of the outbreak and efforts to control it.

Now let's bring in our first set of guests tonight.

Dr Timothy Friel is an infectious disease specialist and chairs the Department of Medicine at Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Dr Jeffrey Jarry also specializes in infectious diseases.

He is senior Vice President of medical and academic affairs at St Luke's University.

Health Network.

And Chrysan Cronin is an associate professor and director of Public Health Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

Thank you all so much for joining us.

Let's begin tonight with Dr Friel Dr Friel LVHN started administering the first doses of the vaccine in December.

Where do you stand now in terms of how many people have been vaccinated and how that process is going Gamma So thanks, Brittny, for having us tonight.

The process is going well.

We continue to vaccinate and we continue to vaccinate at a pace that's determined by the number of vaccines we are receiving from the state.

I believe at the close of day we are close to giving out 60 thousand shots at this point.

It's all been based upon how much vaccine that we continue to receive.

We have opened up vaccinations sites at all of our major hospitals as well as many of our practices.

And we've had our first drive in mass vaccine campaign at Dorney Park.

We are fully committed to continuing this aggressive effort to get members of our community vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible.

And I'd like to ask Dr Jarry, the same question.

I'd like to bring him in.

And just to bring us up to date, if you could, about vaccine rollouts at St Luke's at the current moment, a little bit different approach.

I'd be happy to Brittany.

And again, thank you for having me here.

So at St Luke's, we do have the advantage of having vaccination centers at 11 different campuses.

We feel that convenience and safety are our primary mode.

And in a similar situation to Lehigh Valley, we're limited by the number of vaccines that we get.

I'm happy to say that so far we've actually vaccinated about 80,000 different people and we are running our centers seven days a week.

They're easily accessed and we feel that by providing a comfort and safe venue that's close to home for people that that's the most important thing that we can do.

So the important thing is that we're getting the shots in the arms as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

And the only limitation at this point in time is the amount of vaccine that we're getting.

And unfortunately up to this point, we have not gotten a lot of notice in advance because the state hasn't gotten a lot of notice of how much it's going to get and therefore how much they can distribute.

So hopefully that's going to Dr Jahre, it seems like on the network level things seem to be going OK.

But can you put into perspective for us how many people are signed up for vaccine versus how many vaccines you get per week in any given week Gamma So let me give you an example of what's happening with us.

We have decided that the most vulnerable population, the population that certainly has a higher death rate and complication rate is the elderly population.

And if you want to actually break that down even further, it's the group that is 75 or greater.

So currently when we look at how many of those people that we have vaccinated, we've given it a 25 thousand individuals and there are 50 thousand other individual that are waiting for their vaccine in order to be able to accommodate those folks.

And hopefully we'll be able to do that now.

It's also realize that many of these people might have signed up more than one vaccination site.

And so we're not encouraging that.

And I'm sure that would be true with my colleague at LVHN because it does hinder our planning.

What we do ask people to do that.

If you do get the vaccine at another Zoom callsrevaccinate site to please cancel your appointment so that we don't hold the space view.

We are only giving out appointments to people that we have vaccine for.

So that's a very important thing.

We do not want to give appointments in advance that we can't promise.

So if you're getting an appointment in March, for instance, if we don't know whether you're going to have the vaccine at that point in time.

So the whole idea is not to try and lasso people in and get them actually into our network.

The idea is to get people who need it safely and efficiently and that's what we're doing.

Sure.

So about how many vaccines are you getting per week at any given time?

You've a set number.

Does that vary Gamma It actually varies a great deal.

So I can tell you, for instance, this week so far we've gotten approximately 50% of what we requested.

And so we have to then plan accordingly.

I think it's important to note that when the state actually disributes vaccine now talking about distributing it to pharmacies, there's a certain finite supply and everything that's distributed comes out of that supply and the one thing that I will say is that in the Lehigh Valley that is true for both LVHN as well as the St Luke's network, the people in this valley have been treated very efficiently.

We are actually number one in getting shots into people's arms in comparison to the rest of the state.

And we're hoping that is realized as the state actually gives us more vaccine because we can do it in a very efficient basis.

That's not true in many other areas of the state.

Sure.

I'd like to bring in Kristin Crohn into the conversation.

Of course, public health Muhlenberg College.

Could you put this in perspective for us?

How is Pennsylvania doing as a whole?

When it comes to vaccine rollout?

Well, I think there are good points and there are bad points.

And you just heard some of the success stories.

I mean, from the first story that you did at the top of the show, we vaccinated over a million people.

We've gotten vaccines and those arms and Lehigh Valley is doing a phenomenal job between the two municipal health bureaus and the two hospital networks.

We're very fortunate.

So in that regard, I would say, you know, we get an A-plus.

The problem is that it's the before process, the process that all of us who aren't the ones giving the vaccines are having to deal with.

And that's the trying to find out where we're supposed to register for the vaccine.

And you know, it's sort of like, you know, The Hunger Games where Tidioute to hug.

You know, all I found out Allentown Health Bureau had appointments day, but I was too late to get one, that kind of thing.

So I think that's where the frustration is coming from.

And I think that's why the perception of the rollout in the state might be one of that's a little less than ideal.

So I do think Albright decentralized rollout strategy has some flaws.

And I think we've seen that states that have more centralized rollout plans are a little more efficient and getting their populations vaccinated quicker.

Again, like the doctors said, you the limiting factor there is supply.

So, you know, if we don't have the vaccine, we can't give it to people.

But there is this level of frustration of people just not knowing how to how to even go about registering to get the vaccine.

Sure.

It seems like on a network level the Lehigh Valley is doing a great job at rolling out these vaccines.

But when it comes to the state level, many reports coming out.

Pennsylvania's falling short when it comes to distributing those vaccines.

Do you think that centralized way of distributing vaccines is the way Pennsylvania should maybe switch gears and go?

Well, I mean, I think that having seen the success that states like West Virginia and Ohio and others states have and get rolling that vaccine out quickly and getting it in arms certainly suggests that centralized a centralized approach is more effective and certainly probably less frustrate for the residents of that state.

Sure.

I wanted to bring Dr Friel back in Dr Friel just a couple of weeks ago.

That first phase one a was open to more people and 3.5 million more people is what I should say.

Then moved ahead of a central workers teachers.

Do you think that this move was was that a smart move?

Did we have enough vaccines to And from a public health perspective, why were these people then moved into the first group Gamma So it's a fantastic question.

So when the decision was made at a federal level and then later at a state level to expand those included in phase 1A to include more individuals 75 and older than 65 and older in those between the ages of 18 and 6 to 64 with medical conditions, it expanded the number of people that felt that it was their turn to get vaccinated.

But as Jeff suggested, we are faced with the current problem of a very limited supply.

So whereas more people now had hope that it was going to be their turn in line, it was more people now competing for the same limited number of doses that are available each every day.

You can ask 100 different people what is the best way to distribute?

And what are the most appropriate groups to put first?

You will probably get about 200 different answers about what that right strategy should be.

So there's no perfect way.

We are trying as quickly as possible, though, to get them into the arms of the individuals.

Every person we vaccinate makes our community a little bit better, a little bit safer and a little bit closer to getting through this.

Sure.

Dr Friel, of course, health care and frontline workers in that one a group.

Have you heard health care workers who are not getting the vaccine who decide, you know what, I'm not going to get it.

And if so, what is their reasoning and what does the network tell them Gamma So thankfully, I think a vast majority of our health care workers have firmly embraced vaccination and have been really, really excited to get vaccine.

We saw that in the early weeks people were really clamoring to have the opportunity.

There are those who are a little bit more on the fence.

They've wanted to sit back a little bit, wait to see how it goes.

Wait till we both throughout the region, throughout the state, throughout the country get more Experis and have a little bit more data.

But many of them are coming around and starting to sign up for vaccinations right now.

I think the important thing for all of us to recognize is that different people might have different reasons for waiting.

Some might have been already recovered from Covid and want to wait their recommended or potentially recommended 90 days.

Others have underlying medical conditions where they're just not sure about how to proceed.

So I think from our perspective, what we try to do is engage those individuals, understand their worries, their concerns and address them in an open and honest forum.

And for those reasons, we are having lots of different forums with our own colleagues, with members of our community to put out there.

What are the questions, what are the concerns and really address them in a truthful and honest fashion?

I truly believe more and more people are going to be convinced to move forward with ACSA Nation, but we have to keep those very important educational efforts going forward.

Sure.

Of course, outside of the health care industry, there was a Pew Research study that showed that 40% of Americans said they would refuse the vaccine.

In other cases, just a little less.

So how will we ever get through this pandemic if people almost 40% of Americans are not getting this vaccine Gamma What do we need to do to move forward?

So it's continued education, it's continued sharing of information.

And I think it's going to be celebrating the success stories that we're already starting to see in areas where vaccination is taking effect.

So if you look at other countries that are ahead of us, in their vaccination journeys, for example, Israel, etc., they are now starting to record some substantial declines in the numbers of community cases in our post-acute facilities or Long-Term Care Facilities where a significant portion of those individuals who live there have been vaccinated.

We're starting to see changes in the number outbreaks not only across the state but across the nation as well.

So I think as people start to see and embrace the successes, you're going to see more and more people getting comfortable with this.

And I'm encouraged by the fact, as you said, you know, early, early surveys suggested 50% would say no.

Then it went to 40 and some of the more recent ones that I've read were down to about 20, five to 20% of individuals.

So we are making progress.

I think we have to continue to embrace the fact that people want more information and we have to continue to provide it to them so they become increasingly comfortable.

Sure.

Thank you.

Dr Friel this next question is for Dr Jerry.

This is a Facebook viewer right now.

This is Jessica from Bethlehem.

And she wants to know if there's any worries about after effects or problems developing in the future.

After receiving that Covid-19 vaccine.

That's a very common question and certainly it's an understandable concern.

These vaccines were brought out in a record period of time.

I think it's important to note that they were most side effects of vaccine show up within two months after they're given.

And in addition to that, the FDA required additional four months before they would give approval on any of these vaccines.

And that's on an emergency basis.

So I'm happy to say that so far there is really no issue that would be a major concern in terms of vaccine safety.

Now, obviously, someone can say, well, could you really promise me that there are no long term effects?

And clearly when we've only been giving the vaccine right now for a period of months.

That's impossible to make that promise.

But on the other hand, we have very good evidence that I think we can put going forward to say that when you compare the long term side effects that we do know are already present when one gets Covid-19.

And so the risk benefit ratio, the benefit of actually getting the vaccine, there's no comparison.

There's no comparison.

So I would strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to consider taking that vaccine.

And if there are certainly there their concerns, they can be answered by their physician.

But right now we have no reason to believe that there is any major safety concern.

And what we're seeing, frankly, in terms of side effects are mostly what you would call reactive Jannik.

These are the kind of side effects that show that you have an immune response.

They're short lasting and they're nothing in comparison to people who are having unfortunate side effects with getting Covid-19.

So I want to reassure people that I've taken the vaccine.

My family is taking the vaccine.

This is something that I would hardly endorse.

And I can tell you that more than 95% of physicians across the board feel the same way.

Sure.

I have another question for Chrysan Cronin, Chris.

And we're about a year into this pandemic and a lot of people looking to the state for answers.

Of course, there's concern right now that the person who was leading Pennsylvania through this health crisis has now been called up to the federal level.

Is there any concern that this is a critical time for Pennsylvania for then their health leader to then leave and go to the federal level?

Any concern there for public health?

I wouldn't say this strong concern.

Dr Levine has done in awesome job in my opinion.

And it was a huge loss for the state, but a great gain for the country in a transition period.

There's always going to be some, you know, hiccups.

I'm sure the person that they have appointed in her place has some big shoes to fill and needs to hit the ground.

And you know, is bearing this vaccine rollout issue in the face.

And I mean, we'll have to wait and see.

But I mean, there's a whole staff of people.

It wasn't just Dr Levine that was working on this.

And those people are still there.

And I'm sure that they will continue to do their jobs as well.

As they have been.

And I hope they are our new secretary of health through this transition process.

So I'm not concerned.

But, you know, I wish them all well and you know, because their success is our success.

Sure.

Chrysan Cronin Muhlenberg College, thank you for your perspective.

And I just want to point out that we did invite the Pennsylvania Department Health to join us in this program, but they did not.

We're not able to make it this evening.

In the meantime, we will come back to our doctors a little bit later in the program.

So remember, if you have a question you can give a call.

The number is 4 8 4 8 2 1 0 0 0 8.

You can also post a question on the PBS39 Facebook page where we're streaming this forum for those looking to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

There are resource to help you get in line.

The first being the State Department of Health's website visit health up PA .gov to find out if you are eligible for a vaccine and where to sign up for one.

You can find data on the number of Covid shots administered in each county, including your county from the state's website.

You can also find vaccine providers near you.

A map allows you to zoom in and identify pinpoints a pop shows the name and location of the provider and in some cases a link to register.

But be warned, many appointments are already full locally.

Lehigh Valley Health Network says the quickest way to register for an appointment is through my LVHN .org.

You don't have to be an LVHN patient to register.

You can also call the phone number 1 8 3 3 5 8 4 6 2 8 3.

But LVHN not taking appointments by phone until additional vaccine is available.

Registering online through my LVHN portal is the best way to assure you'll get in line for an appointment.

Now to register through St Luke's University Health Network visit s l u h n .org slash vaccine.

Again, you don't have to be a patient there to register online with St Luke's.

There's also a phone number there to call.

It's 1 8 6 6 7 8 5 8 5 3 7.

St Luke's is prioritizing vaccine scheduling right now for health care workers, nursing home staffers, first responders and people who are 75 and older.

Now, both the Allentown and Bethlehem Health bureaus are holding mass vaccination clinics, but also by appointment only.

We stopped by the Allentown site to hear from people about why they are getting vaccinated.

Once a place where people lined up for fun and excitement is now a place where people line up for protection, our protection, some are relieved, is finally here.

My Covid vaccination.

I'm really excited.

I can't wait.

The AG reflects that the Allentown Fairgrounds is the site of a mass vaccination clinic hosted by the Allentown Health Bureau.

People we spoke to, like Leelee Keiller of Laurie Station seemed eager to get the shot.

But it's necessary because science says that it's the best way to combat the disease.

My husband is a surgeon, so he's already vaccinated.

He's gotten both of his shots and I'm really excited to get mine.

Compli resident surreally SABR was a first responder hoping to keep herself and her family safe from the virus.

I've been a medical 18 years.

My husband actually works for the Bethlehem Health Bureau and he's doing this down on Bethlehem.

I'm in EMT and so is he.

And I have three high risk people in my house.

So it was a No-Brainer that morning on the way or shot down to my bare.

Meanwhile, James Hedger falls in the higher at risk group.

You're feeling well today, James and his severe allergic reaction to anything.

Mainly because of my asthma.

They told me to try to get it ASAP P So I was persistent and got a time easy enough o painless.

Yep, she's excellent.

Vaccines are being administered daily to health care workers.

Those 75 and older and others with serious pre-existing conditions with an appointment though that is proving to be no easy feat.

The first three times I try Bear Lake.

Oh your timeslots gone and I was like OK, next time for when I got on.

There were openings in about 15 minutes later they were all gone.

Two weeks worth of appointments to get the vaccine were booked within just a few hours of the health bureau releasing them.

The best advice I got was when I called my Ashland doctor and the receptionist told me b her system and that's how I got it.

With so many looking to get a Covid-19 vaccine, a steady stream of people trickled in and out of the AGRIO flex to get my next line and be fully vaccinated even with the threat of side effects.

Those getting stuck with the needles say the benefit outweighs the risks.

I'd rather get the vaccine get side effects than to get Covid hoping to build herd immunity.

Just really hoping to kind of put a dent in this virus because you know, over 400,000 people have died and unfortunately not a lot of people are observing the social distancing masking the way that they should.

So at least for me, I know myself and my husband will be vaccinated, provide a little bit of immunity for our children.

I always weigh the potential gain toward the risk.

Obviously I'm here and I want it definitely.

It's been approved.

I trust in the scientists now the health bureau says anyone looking for appointment must schedule one on line vaccine time slots for the Allentown Health Bureau's clinic are released online at 9 o'clock every Thursday morning.

Now in Bethlehem, the health bureau is vaccinating people with an appointment at Wind Creek Casino.

They to schedule those appointments online and release new dates and times as they receive vaccine shipments and people we spoke to were excited for the vaccine.

Not everyone is so eager.

Many have their hesitations.

The Latino and black communities historically have distrusted the health care system.

Here now to discuss that further is Dr Louise Campos.

He's an independent physician with a practice and Allentown.

Dr Campos, thank you so much for joining us.

We want to know what are you hearing from people in those underserved communities Gamma What are some of their concerns about the vaccine's Gamma Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

Yes, I am an independent doctor, so I don't belong to any of the networks.

And there's about 40 of us independent doctors.

So we get to hear from the community different things maybe than what normally you would get from somewhere else.

And there is fear.

There is unsightly and there is something that they don't know what to expect, how to get.

I get many calls in order to find out how to go approach and who and find out who is going to get the vaccines myself.

I got my take on those yesterday.

So I went through the Allentown Health Bureau and most of the independent physicians when either to St Luke's Lehigh Valley or like me to the Allentown Health Bureau or the Bethlehem Health Bureau.

I have worked with the Department of Health from the state.

Not an easy task, but from the beginning when we were trying to do the testing that was not available or it was the way that we started.

So there is a lot of unsighted the there is fear there even among some of the doctors I have found three of my colleagues that refuse or so they say that they're not going to get anything.

I had to persist.

I had to be insistent and I finally got my vaccination.

But it really wasn't that much of a problem.

Today, 24 hours after getting my second vaccine, I really have soreness in the arm.

Maybe I had a low grade temperature, but nothing male.

So I think everybody else campus.

I wanted to ask you mentioned even some of the doctors have some fear.

So how do you quell those fears Gamma What do you tell your patients?

Well, first of all, I want to breach with the example and tell them that I got it myself.

Some of them are very reluctant because they have heard so many anecdotal reports that once in a while we here in the media talking about the regular media that somebody passed away, somebody die, whether in Israel or California or whatever.

And those Gordon things really dawn on coun- because these stories are there that it is safe.

So I do tell them that they have to see it in the way that they are helping their family, their community and that they should go ahead with it.

Wonderful.

Dr Louise Campos from Allentown, thank you so much for joining us with your perspective.

Thank you.

For now, the problem isn't finding people who want to be vaccinated for the most part.

It's getting enough vaccines to providers to meet the huge demand for people wanting an appointment.

Now senior citizens certainly are in that category.

I'd like to now bring in the executive director of the Lehigh County Office of Aging JR Reed.

It's great to have you tonight.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

So I want to ask what kind of questions are you fielding from the 65, an older age group?

Most of them are eligible now for the vaccine.

Well, I would say we're getting kind of normal questions that you would expect.

How do I get the vaccine Gamma How soon can I get it scheduled?

We also have received questions about what if I have someone that's homebound?

How can I get vaccinations for them?

Are people having trouble?

I'm sorry.

Are people having trouble getting those Gamma You know, we're like we're hearing are people having trouble getting those appointments, signing on, finding where to sign up Gamma Are you hearing those kind of issues?

Yeah, we're hearing that there's definitely population.

It's not always the best to go online.

So we're instructing people just to use the phone numbers and to be persistent as the other guests of indicated and are pointing them in that direction as well.

Sure.

I was just going to say not everyone is tech savvy.

Not everybody has access to the internet.

Have they been successful calling in Gamma Yes.

There are many that have been able to call and get vaccinated.

You know, I know they did.

They did the round of Red Dorney Park and several other sites as well.

Sure.

And how is your office assisting in getting people signed up and getting shots into arms for our older populations and Lehigh County?

Sure.

When people called her office, we kind of.

But we point them to the two health networks and Allentown Health Bureau for Lehigh County and we try to encourage them to be patient and make phone calls in to get them.

We also instruct people to use the public transportation which would be LANTA service and those kinds of things like that for individuals.

Sure.

We also have a coronavirus, so we air Monday, Wednesday and Friday here on PBS.

39.

A lot of the folks who call in are just frustrated with the process.

Has the process gotten any easier over the past few weeks?

I don't think so.

From what I'm hearing from the questions again, though, this week I heard from the secretary of aging from Pennsylvania with aging and they're just stressing to everybody from the state level, the Commonwealth level to be patient.

There are more vaccines coming.

We have to approve.

Now there's other ones that are coming that I think will be important in getting the supply out and that we just all have to you continue to be safe as we do that so we can allow these to catch up to us so we can get the vaccination out to those who need it.

Sure.

And how can your office help those who are 65 and older who are interested in getting that vaccine?

Sure.

Our website, if you have access to that, we have a whole brochure that's out that would point to the numbers to call.

We also are passing this out to a number of our people that we home delivered meals and other things like that.

We have 12 senior centers that we also pass this information on a contracted nurse that also is doing some webinars that will go over some of the concerns that people have and how you know what to expect if they would get vaccinated.

And so the phone number to call to just get any information that you would need.

If you're elderly, it's 6 107 8 to 3200.

That's our general intake for Lehigh County Department of Human Services.

Great JR Reed Lehigh County area agency on Aging.

Thank you so much for that important information, sir.

Thank you.

In the second phase, Pennsylvania's vaccination distribution are educators and other large group at risk for the coronavirus.

Joining us now is Richard Askey, presidents of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, as well as the Vice President of campus life at Lafayette College and Easton Annette Diorio.

Thank you both so much.

For joining us.

Rich, let's start with you.

Thanks for being here.

Many argue that teachers should be in that first group to get vaccinated.

Do you agree why or why not Gamma Well, we certainly think that if the teachers are going to be essential workers, that it is important for them to get the vaccine.

And so that is why we are working closely with the Wolf administration and we are advocating for that.

We are presently in one B and we are very anxious for one B to to be announced that it is open.

The fact of the matter is that the vaccination, along with rapid testing, is going to a game changer for getting schools open and closer to what normal is.

Sure, a lot of pressure this week is mounting with people calling for students to go back to school.

It has been throughout this entire pandemic, but now more than ever than the CDC came out this week and said schools can reopen safely for in-persn learning even without teachers getting vaccinated.

What are you hearing from your teachers, the ones that you represent Gamma Well, I think it's important to realize that Dr Wollensky also made several of our points that there is a toolkit to make sure that schools are open.

It includes not only vaccinations and testing.

It also includes mitigation, PPE and all those other things.

So I am telling you that there is a lot of teachers who also like the rest of the community.

They have elderly parents.

They have a spouse that is some somewhat compromised.

So it is very important to our members to have access to a vaccine.

Sure.

When would you like to see in person go back?

Do you think it should be sooner or do you think it should be after that phase?

I believe teachers are in the one B phase when they can get vaccinated with from the very beginning our message has been that we want to be back in our classrooms with the children and there's many places I would say about two thirds of the state.

There's many places where that's already happening and it's just important if they want to do it, that they do it with all the safety and the recommendations of the health experts there.

There are schools that are open te weather a lot that are doing the hybrid and doing a good job at mitigations.

But that's our message.

You must take the cautious steps to making sure the school is safe and they must have resources and they and so that they can have the items there.

The PPE and all those other things that are needed.

Sure.

It seems like it's an individual school district basis as to what they decide to do.

Do you think that's the best approach?

Do you think there should be more streamlined approach with sort of a blanket understanding of when people should go back or not Gamma I think it's good that it's a commute that the community decides when they go back because.

But it should be the whole community.

It should the administration, school board teachers, support staff, parents.

We should vote that those kind of decisions should be made together because every community has different needs and every community has different resources that can do the right thing to open up those school.

Sure.

Of course, teachers being the main concern here when it comes to schools, teachers getting vaccinated.

I should say because children who are in grade school, most of them can't get vaccinated because the vaccine is for 16 and older when it comes to colleges, a little different here.

I've Annette Diorio.

And that's you are from the Vice President of campus life at Lafayette.

And we wanted to just ask you about how you're bringing kids back.

How is it a little bit different these students or older, they are able to get vaccines.

And so these students are coming back on campus in person this semester.

So what's different this time around?

Thank you.

So we really deployed multi-prong approach that relies heavily on testing, contact tracing and the availability to isolate students.

We paired up a pre arrival test for all of our students before they left home with an arrival day test and weekly testing for our entire population.

Students, faculty and staff here on campus.

We will do our weekly PCR test with antigen rapid test for close contacts of anyone who is tested positive in that regard.

Really the object is to keep a few Covid cases from becoming really a community event.

And the way you do that is consistent testing and being sure that you are getting folks isolated in quarantine as quickly as possible.

We also have about 60 trained contact tracers on our staff to to follow up on all those cases as they happen.

Sure.

In the fall there was about 500 students on campus.

Of course, like I just said, most of the students are coming back this semester.

So what did you learn in the fall that you've carried over now to the spring semester to safely bring those students back?

The most significant difference for us is that we were at a much lower density fall in our testing was really for just a percentage of our population.

It truly was just, you know, surveillance, testing, transitioning to population level testing was critical for us as we increase the density.

So, you know, knowing that we have every student being tested every week was really an important feature of our plan to open this spring and to have more students back.

Sure.

When it comes to those contact tracers, are these people who are already on campus or did you have to bring people in for this?

We trained our sports medicine and our health service staff and went out from there with using the state approved training.

So they were actually on campus close to campus.

They know our population well when students talk about buildings or settins, they're familiar with them.

So it's actually pretty efficient way for us to get information.

And then we have had contact tracing who coordinates with Department of Health and the state to make sure that all those cases get logged properly and taken care of.

Sure.

It seems like a lot of work, but of course you're trying to keep everybody safe, including the community, because a lot of times these college kids are living in that community.

So how you kind of make sure that you're not stopped, you're not spreading the virus from campus to the community, is it with all of that testing?

Yeah.

I mean, everything we do is aimed at lowering risk.

It won't eliminated.

I mean, one of the things that I think is significant for a private institution such as Lafayette is whether our students live in the community on or on campus in our residence halls.

They are responsible to us for the behavior and their actions.

So we are doing testing on all of our students, even those who live in private residences.

You know, that's a that's a key feature.

Some college communities in students in private residences aren't really as accountable to the institution.

But private institutions.

It's important that we leverage that accountability weekly.

Sure.

I wanted to ask a rich afik another question.

Obviously, schools across Pennsylvania are not up to that point.

Not everybody is back in the classroom in person learning.

So how do you kind of balance that the mental health then also keeping teachers and students safe.

How do you have that safe balance?

I mean, kids need social socialization in the same breath.

We want to keep everybody safe.

So how do you balance all that?

That's a really, really important item to talk about because it is important.

We understand that that's just the socialization that happens in our schools is so important to the development of children.

Now, I know that I have heard many stories about teachers that are reaching out individually to their students to make sure everything is still well with them.

Reaching out to their parents.

Schools also have guidance counselors and the social workers and the nurses who are all surrounding our students and everything and reaching out to them to make sure if there's anything that they need.

Is there any social services they need?

And I have to tell you, the online learning and the ability that our teachers have stepped up to make sure that like this Zoom page and Google classroom and all these other things so that they have really been working to connect the kids with each other online as well.

Sure.

Teachers are absolutely doing a remarkable job, kind of bending over backwards to try reconfigure their classrooms.

Has there been any instances of teachers who are in the classroom getting sick throughout Pennsylvania Gamma Oh, yeah.

Yes.

I have to tell you that I have written to be very frank, I have written too many letters to local associations expressing our condolences and grief about the loss of one of their members.

A teacher support staff.

We had at the beginning, we had bus drivers who had some problems.

And yes, we have had members that have passed away from Covid.

Sorry to hear that.

Well, Annette Diorio of Lafayette College and PSEA President Rich Askey, thank you both so much for weighing that important information and many companies, especially health care providers, require staff to get the flu shot every year.

So can they require employees to get the Covid vaccine?

A big question right now.

So for some legal advice, we now turn to attorney David Koller, who specializes in labor issues and workplace rights.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you.

First things first.

Can my employer require me to get the vaccine a big question out there right now.

Yeah, I appreciate that.

It is a big question.

And I'd like to be a lawyer who answers the question directly.

The answer is yes.

And like you pointed out, mandatory vaccines policy are nothing new.

The way I like to explain it is a company or an organization can essentially make a policy as long as it doesn't violate laws.

It's fine.

So think of like a company has a grooming policy or an attendance policy.

Then you think of the laws that it might implicate like grooming policy or a uniform policy might implicate religious preferences or accommodations that are necessary.

So when you think about Covid, we look to the equal Employment Opportunity Commission as the agents, the federal agency for guidance on this.

And basically the short answer is yes, you can, but you want to make sure that it doesn't run afoul of the Americans with disabilities Act.

So employees who may have qualifying disabilities and may need accommodations or folks, employees who have religious beliefs that also might require accommodations as well.

Sure.

So the answer is yes.

But there are some exceptions.

So if someone is not one of those exception, can they be fired if they refuse to get the vaccine?

So we look again at the EEOC.

And I just want everyone to understand, you know, as a lawyer, there's not a book that I can open up and turn to page 73 and read that the answer to this question is yes, or no.

This is evolving.

And I think to be continued type situation, of course.

And it's also a very fact intensive for each particular situation.

So under your hypothetical where we assume there's not a disability that renders the employer on notice to potentially provide an accommodation or a religious preference.

Ultimately, the answer would be although the EEOC hasn't specific said that given its guidelines for a mandatory vaccinations, it appears that an employee cannot simply refuse a vaccination with no valid protected reason under the law.

Sure.

And how does a company once they implement that, say that, you know, everybody, they require that vaccine?

How do they how do they enforce that then Gamma That's where it gets tricky and you know, I represent employees and I represent employers for the most part representing employees.

But I recognize it's very, very difficult for employers.

So what you want to do is you want to communicate effectively.

You want to inform your employees and you want to have open dialog.

And if you implement a policy that requires vaccinations, best practices would probably suggest that you should do that in writing.

And you should also make available in writing.

I would suggest an accommodation for that employee can complete and then you can have an interactive dialog with the employees.

And it might be that you're a company that even if it's not an Americans with disabilities, it's not someone who's disabled, who can't get vaccinated as an exception or it's not a religious preference.

It might be company that says, you know what, there might be a reason why we wanted to sit down and talk to this person And so I think the main the main points I want to say on that is consider putting in writing, educating your workforce, being open and honest.

Much like some of our other speakers have talked about.

And then on the accommodation piece, you don't want to be a secret where the employees reluctant to tell you about it.

You maybe want to have a forum that you can have employees freely.

One want to submit to you confidentially.

The overriding concern here that I think, look, we don't have case law on this yet because it's just happened.

And so again, it's to be continued.

But I think there's people disagree about vaccine getting backs vaccinated, getting not not getting vaccinated.

Companies having requirements to vechs to vaccinate or not.

I think the analysis whether it's a judge who leans on one side or another side, the one thing that we can all agree upon is I think the analysis should be focussed on the safety of the employees and the workforce and that's of paramount importance.

It's just that people have different definitions at this time about what safety means.

Sean David Koller from Koller Law.

Thank you so much for weighing in on this important topic.

Thank you for having me.

Thanks for joining us.

Let's bring back our infectious disease special, Dr Jeffrey Jarry from St Luke's University Health Network.

And Dr Timothy Friel from Lehigh Valley Health Network to answer some of your questions, doctors.

Thank you for once again joining us.

We have an array of different callers asking questions for you.

So let's get right into it.

Let's have Dr Jerri take this first one.

This is Nancy and she's asking.

She says she has lots of health issues, kidney failure, lupus gets in fact, infusion therapy.

She hasn't been out of the house in a year.

Is this someone who would be a candidate for the vaccine?

So what we always tell people who are in that situation, the first step is to actually speak to their own physician because everybody has certain individualities that you cannot really generalize.

Having said that, that for all practical purposes, there is not a specific country indication to any of those conditions in terms of getting the vaccine.

But I want to stress that it may not apply to that individual.

And I would encourage that individual to speak to their own physician so that they can make their own assessment.

Sure.

Let's have Dr Friel take this next question.

This is Ellen from Lafayette Hill.

She's asking, can the doctors please talk about how even if you get the vaccine, you can still spread the virus, how that is possible and then how do you make sure that people It's a fantastic question and it's on everyone's mind.

if you look at the studies that helped authorize the currently available vaccines, what they looked at to determine success was the ability to prevent the development of symptomatic disease.

So with both Pfizer and Moderna, we've identified or demonstrated 95% effectiveness of those vaccines at avoiding someone from developing symptomatic disease.

There is the possibility that people can develop asymptomatic carige after those vaccines.

So it is still possible that those can get exposed.

Some people use that and see that as a negative.

What I want to emphasize though, for folks and I think this is sometimes lost in those messages when we're talking about 95% or 5% failure that for people who receive the vaccine, there was a dramatically reduced likelihood that someone would end up in a hospital because of Covid-19.

And if you look at the more than 75,000 individual, those who were enrolled in clinical trials for the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca and Novavax zero individuals died because of Covid-19.

That is almost unheard of as far as a success rate with a vaccine.

So I do want to assure folks that we can't just be using the definition avoiding disease.

We really want to turn this disease into one that is mild.

If we can take Covid-19 and make it as innocuous as the common cold, we have done a great thing.

And that will help end this pandemic.

The second question was how do you get people to wear their mask?

We have to continue to encourage that discussion about wearing masks.

It's still for us very important community spread is going down.

Numbers of hospitalizations, new cases, test positivity rate, all moving in the right direction.

But for now, until we get more individuals vaccinated and achieve what we're desiring herd immunity, we all need to do our part and continue to wear masks, keep social distancing, do all the things that we've been asking folks to do since March of 2020.

Great Dr Friel.

Thank you.

I'm going to continue with these callers from the people who are watching this next question was posted on our website.

This is from Michael and Dr Jerry.

This one will be for you.

He says, I've read that people should discontinue using acetaminophen or ibuprofen before getting vaccinated.

I have ongoing dental issues and I alternate Tylenol and Advil.

Are there any pain products that are compatible with the vaccine Gamma If I did have to stop taking Tylenol and Advil for how long do I do so Gamma What the questioner is alluding to is the effect on your immune response when you get the vaccine.

So if you take a drug that is a specific anti-inflammatory, in other words, it prevents you from having that inflammatory immune response.

Theoretically, it may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine.

So what can you do Gamma We know that, for instance, Tylenol is not an anti in flattery.

So what we would advise is if you can take Tylenol, then that might be the preferable alternative.

Certainly if you can hold off on on any of those agents before you get the vaccine, once you actually have the inflammatory response, then there probably isn't the same effect in terms of actually taking die inflammatory.

But at this point I think most of us would probably discourage if possible, the taking of an anti-inflammatory.

If you're going to use something, then Tylenol would be preferable.

But again, there are always exceptions and you have to take your own health considerations into account when you make these decisions.

Great.

Dr Jahre.

Thank you.

We'll go back to Dr Friel for our next one.

Barney from Coopersburg.

She's asking.

She said she got tested but she tested positive in January and she's wondering if she is immune now to Covid-19 or should she then receive the vaccine even though she's already had the coronavirus.

So natural infection with Covid-19 does provide the individual with some protection.

So there is a good immuno immunologic response after infection that will provide some protection for a period of time.

The CDC, though, is still endorsing and encouraging individual who've had Covid-19 to consider vaccination.

They say that they can safely wait for up to 90 days after their vaccination.

I'm sorry, after their illness to get vaccinated.

So it's a discussion that we often have with patients.

They are not discouraged from getting vaccinated, but they can safely wait that 90 days.

And piggybacking on that question, We have Amy asking if she can still get Covid after being fully vaccinated.

So an important question and as we said, the effectiveness of reducing the likelihood of someone getting new Covid-19 with symptoms is 95% for the currently available vaccines.

So that does mean there might be a small population that was able to get infected even after their second dose.

But as the data has suggested, those illnesses were much less severe, tended to have very mild symptoms, very unlikely to be hospitalized and zero deaths thus far reported in those who've been vaccinated.

So yes, you can get it, but it's a very, very different disease and illness in people who've completed the vaccine series.

And we sort of touched upon this, Dr Jerry.

But Ilona from Orefield was asking, can I still be contagious after getting that vaccine?

And the answer to that is Tim has alluded to is yes.

So we don't have that answer right now.

But this is the good news that within the next couple of months we're going to find out whether there is truly neutralizing effect of the vaccine and whether the amount of viral shedding you have can be contagious.

But as of right now, we have to consider that it might be sure in this next question, Dr Jahre will stay with you.

Amy lives in a senior home in Bryn Ma.

They're in lockdown right now.

She's gotten the first dose.

She's waiting to get the second.

How long after she gets that second dose, can she feel safe is what she's asking.

All right.

Now, remember that we've already said that when you talk about safety, we're talking about the ability to protect yourself against getting severe disease and obviously from dying.

But you still can potentially have the disease in a small percentage of cases.

And the effect the full effect of the vaccine is probably somewhere between 1 and 3 weeks after the second dose.

So I think if you can say to yourself on average, if you get out about 2 weeks from the second dose, you're probably getting for all practical purposes the full effect of the vaccine.

Sure.

And as we close this program, we don't have a lot of time left.

But I'd like to take just a couple of seconds with each of you.

Final thoughts on vaccines moving forward in this pandemic and Dr Jahre.

We'll start with you.

I think that this is one of the best things that has happened in terms of our ability to be able to staunch this pandemic.

And we haven't even touched on mutant strains and what might happen in the future.

And so the only thing that I can tell people is there will be I am certain within a few months enough availability for almost anyone who wants that vaccine to get it.

And my strong encouragement would be to do so.

It is our best weapon so far.

In helping to bring this pandemic to a close.

Shawn Dr Friel, do you have a quick thought to add to that?

I totally agree.

I'm so enthusiastic about the hope that the vaccines bring us.

I ask people to remember, though, even though we shared some optimistic data about how we're doing within the state that we are not through this yet.

We still have a lot of vaccinations to give.

And as Jeff has mentioned, the threat of mutants strains or viral variants does remain real.

So taking those precautions, doing the things that people need to remain safe are essential to all of us as we move forward.

Super Bowl weekend coming up.

And we are encouraging people to really a boy avoid large groups, parties watch the game, but do it from the safety of your own home in your own bubble.

Some great information there.

Dr Friel Dr Jerri, as always, thank you so much for discussing all of this important information without having us.

Thank you.

And that'll do it for this PBS39 community conversation Covid-19 vaccines fact versus fiction.

We want to thank our guests for being with today.

You can always join us throughout the week for Community Update on coronavirus.

It airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 4pm with local experts and community members weighing in on the latest pandemic information on behalf of PBS39 and Lehigh Valley Public Media.

I'm Brittany Sweeney.

Good night and stay safe.