Credit: PA Internet News Service
Pennsylvania does not plan to require residents to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
During a Monday press briefing, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine made the announcement. She also spoke of the rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
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“We have no plans to make the COVID-19 vaccine required for anyone, including school children,” she said. “In fact, there really have not been adequate studies done to date with the vaccines on children under 18 years of age. Some of the companies are starting those trials now. So, we’ll wait and see what the science tells us in terms of the vaccine in young people. We expect it to be safe and effective, but we’re going to have to prove that.”
There have been questions raised for months whether the state would require people to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1905 upholds that the government can require vaccinations. The case – Jacobson v. Massachusetts – lays out that individual rights under the Constitution are not absolute and public health needs can trump some rights.
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“There is, of course, a sphere within which the individual may assert the supremacy of his own will and rightfully dispute the authority of any human government, especially of any free government existing under a written constitution. But it is equally true that in every well-ordered society charged with the duty of conserving the safety of its members the rights of the individual in respect of his liberty may at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint, to be enforced by reasonable regulations, as the safety of the general public may demand,” Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote at the time.
Pennsylvania currently has vaccine requirements for school children, but parents can sign a waiver that cites a philosophical or religious objection.
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Levine said there are no plans to use school districts to distribute one or more COVID-19 vaccines that are likely to be approved. She explained that the state’s vaccination plan works through the health care system and would place health care workers and emergency responders and Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions and long-term care center residents at the front of the line.
Levine told reporters the state has hit a “concerning milestone” as COVID-19 test positivity rates have reached 12 percent. Health experts previously stated that rates about 5 percent are troubling.
The state health department announced Monday that more than 4,400 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. The number is higher than the hospitalization rate from spring.
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“We’re going to be watching this data very closely,” Levine said. “We have no plans for further mitigation. We had instituted mitigation in the last two weeks, and we’ll be observing the impact of that, but it will be hard for me to predict the future in terms of what will be necessary later.”
State officials have stuck with their reasoning that decisions on schools being in-person or virtual lies with local school boards and administrations.
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Levine and Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Noe Ortega announced that Pennsylvanians age 13 to 17, with permission from the parents, can download and use the voluntary COVID Alert PA app. The app’s features include an interactive COVID-19 symptom check-in, alerts for potential exposures to the virus, updates on the latest public health data about COVID-19 in the state, and public health guidance for what to do if users have a potential exposure to COVID-19.
“By expanding the age range, we can hopefully increase the number of individuals who download the app, increasing its effectiveness to help control the spread of this dangerous virus, especially in school settings,” Levine said.
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“The app is also designed to ensure privacy of the user. It does not use GPS, location services or any movement or geographical information. It will never collect, transmit or store personal information. It is completely anonymous,” according to the health department.
There have been 622,000 downloads of the app so far.
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Ways residents can help reduce the spread of COVID-19:
- Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Wear a mask when in a business or where it is difficult to maintain proper social distancing.
- Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
- Clean surfaces frequently.
- Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.
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