Senators Will Be Joined by Pa. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine

WEST CHESTER (December 29, 2020) – State Senator Steve Santarsiero, State Senator-Elect Carolyn Comitta and Senator Tim Kearney will hold a virtual townhall meeting with Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine to answer residents’ questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and discuss the Commonwealth’s vaccination plan.

The meeting, set for Wednesday, January 6 at 3 p.m., is focused on the southeast Pennsylvania region and will likely include additional state lawmakers representing the area. It will be held via Zoom and is free and open to the public. Interested participants should register ahead of time here or at either Senator-Elect Comitta’s (www.pasenatorcomitta.com), Senator Kearney’s (www.senatorkearney.com) or Senator Santarsiero’s website (www.senatorstevesantarsiero.com).

In addition, plans for more virtual townhalls on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine are underway and will be announced soon.

The COVID-19 vaccine is currently being distributed in southeast Pennsylvania to front-line healthcare workers as part of a multi-phase plan. More information on the vaccine distribution plan for Chester and Delaware Counties is available at www.chesco.org/4376/Coronavirus-COVID-19. COVID-19 information from the Bucks County Health Depart is available at https://buckscounty.org/government/healthservices/HealthDepartment.

“As the vaccine rollout continues, more residents have more questions about safety, logistics, and distribution,” Senator-Elect Comitta said. “This is an opportunity for you to get answers. We welcome your questions and encourage you to pass along this information and share it publicly.”

“This will be an excellent chance for people to learn more about the vaccine and have their questions answered,” said Senator Kearney. “It’s also important to remember the vaccine will be just one tool in our fight against COVID-19. We can still protect ourselves and others by wearing a mask, keeping our distance, and washing our hands.”

“As the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out for our essential workers and most vulnerable populations, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Senator Santarsiero.  “This town hall will provide information on the variety of vaccines and allow for questions from participants. Together, we will get through this.”

In addition to Dr. Levine, the meeting will include an expert panel of officials from both the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health team responsible for overseeing the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Comitta, Kearney, and Santarsiero also cautioned that while the vaccine is very promising, due to limited supply it won’t immediately be widely available to everyone. They urged all Pennsylvanians to continue to diligently follow the guidelines that are scientifically proven to stop the spread of the coronavirus, including mask-wearing, frequent handwashing, social distancing, and avoiding large crowds.

Currently, the FDA has granted emergency use authorization to two COVID-19 vaccines: the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine. More vaccines are in development and expected to be seeking emergency use authorization soon.

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