The Pennsylvania Senate Aging and Youth Committee and the Health and Human Services Committee will get an update on the state’s efforts to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine during a public hearing today (Thursday) beginning at 11:00 am. Committee Chairs Senator Judy Ward (R-30) and Senator Michele Brooks (R-50) say the hearing will include an update on the implementation of the Wolf Administration’s state vaccine plan, as well as the reasons why Pennsylvania ranks among the worst states in the nation in terms of the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated. The hearing will be streamed live at www.pasenategop.com.

East Derry Elementary School will be closed today (February 4th) through Monday (February 8th) due to COVID-19 protocol. The tentative plan is to have EDES reopen for in-person instruction on Tuesday (February 9th). Teachers will execute a full remote learning plan during the closure.

The Mifflin County School District administration says the SKYLERT Messaging System is encountering programming issues and is not currently able send text messages to contacts. Currently, it is estimated that only 5% to 10% of contacts are receiving text messages.

Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have announced an affiliation agreement that will increase access and further advance the delivery of pediatric health care to families in central and northeast Pennsylvania. The affiliation seeks to leverage the combined expertise and infrastructure of the two organizations, ensuring that children in the region receive the right care delivered by the best clinical team to meet their medical needs. Clinicians from CHOP and Geisinger have already begun to collaborate across numerous clinical areas including Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, Radiology, and Laboratory Services.