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COVID-19

Pennsylvania to make all adults vaccine eligible by April 19

HARRISBURG — Every adult in Pennsylvania will qualify for COVID-19 vaccines starting April 19, and emergency responders, grocery workers and others will be able to set up shots immediately, Gov. Tom Wolf's administration announced Wednesday. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said the new timeline is possible because the state's rate of vaccinations has quickened. “The vaccine landscape continues to evolve as the federal government is increasing allocations to more retail pharmacy chains across the country,” Beam said in a statement. “To ensure that vaccine continues to get to ...

Blair’s hospitality funding tapped

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County expects to exhaust its COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Grant Program allocation in the first round of funding. The Altoona Blair County Development Corp., which is administering the county’s CHIRP, identified 60 eligible entities that submitted applications for a share of the county’s $1.38 million allocation before deadline. ABCD indicated that if applications fell short of exhausting the county’s allocation, then additional applications would be accepted. “It appears that all funds will be used,” commissioners Chairman Bruce Erb said ...

Judge: Hospital can’t claim virus losses

A Windber hospital does not have a claim against its insurance company for its loss of business income and extra expenses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson in Johnstown ruled. The Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center, which has facilities in Windber, Johnstown and Portage, last April filed a class action lawsuit against Travelers Property and Casualty Co. of Hartford, Conn., challenging a company decision not to cover financial losses due to shutdown of facilities and furlough of employees that resulted from Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders during the ...

State mulls expansion of vaccine eligibility

With Pennsylvania still vaccinating its most vulnerable population, Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that his administration is discussing when to make the COVID-19 shot more widely available and that he expects it to happen relatively quickly. Providers under the state’s jurisdiction are supposed to schedule all currently eligible people who request a vaccine — including people aged 65 and older and younger people with high-risk medical conditions — by Wednesday. Wolf asserted that providers are on track to meet that goal, and said Pennsylvania will soon be at a point where anyone who ...

Canada halts AstraZeneca vaccine for those under 55

TORONTO — Canada on Monday suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for people under age 55 following concerns it might be linked to rare blood clots. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization had recommended the pause for safety reasons and the Canadian provinces, which administer health in the country, announced the suspension Monday. “There is substantial uncertainty about the benefit of providing AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines to adults under 55 given the potential risks,” said Dr. Shelley Deeks, vice chair of the National Advisory Committee on ...

Moratorium on evictions extended

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is extending a federal moratorium on evictions of tenants who have fallen behind on rent during the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday moved to continue the pandemic-related protection, which had been scheduled to expire on Wednesday. The moratorium is now extended through the end of June. The ban, initially put in place last year, provides protection for renters out of concern that having families lose their homes and move into shelters or share crowded conditions with relatives or friends during the ...