Desks are arranged in a classroom at Panther Valley Elementary School, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Nesquehoning, Pa. On May 26, 2020, former student, 9-year-old Ava Lerario; her mother, Ashley Belson, and her father, Marc Lerario were found fatally shot inside their home.
Matt Slocum / AP Photo
Matt Slocum / AP Photo
Desks are arranged in a classroom at Panther Valley Elementary School, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Nesquehoning, Pa. On May 26, 2020, former student, 9-year-old Ava Lerario; her mother, Ashley Belson, and her father, Marc Lerario were found fatally shot inside their home.
(Allentown) — At a press conference on Sept. 30, Gov. Tom Wolf signaled the commonwealth’s school mask mandate will end when children under 12 can be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“We have a problem here,” said Wolf. “And as soon as kids under 12 can get the vaccine, that’s gonna continue to be our strategy: the vaccine. Right now, we don’t have that.”
Pfizer has submitted data on testing of its COVID-19 vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The governor was in Allentown to mark a $30 million increase in state funding to help enable more children to attend pre-K programs.
Wolf was also there to highlight more than $650 million in federal funding that’s being made available to help “stabilize” child care providers. His administration said that will help more parents return to the workforce during the pandemic.
As part of the governor’s visit, he toured Community Services for Children’s (CSC) Learning Hub. CSC is a local provider of Head Start, a school readiness program for children from low-income families.
The Associated Press and WITF’s democracy reporter Jordan Wilkie are partnering to tell stories about how Pennsylvania elections work, and to debunk misinformation surrounding elections.
