Category: News

AHN Now Offering Pfizer Vaccine to Children 12 and Older

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Following the FDA’s emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds earlier this week, and the CDC’s final recommendation yesterday that the vaccine be used among this population, Allegheny Health Network (AHN) announced today that it will administer the Pfizer vaccine to anyone age 12 and older.

On Monday at Next Tier Connect (4350 Northern Pike), in addition to providing a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine to recipients who received a first dose on April 26th, approximately 1,000 first doses will be offered to children age 12 and older as well as adults. First-dose appointments are now available for scheduling.

AHN will host several more large-scale Pfizer vaccine clinics across the region for eligible children and family members who have not yet been vaccinated. In addition to the clinic at Next Tier Connect on Monday, first doses of the vaccine will be provided at the following clinic locations from 3 – 7 p.m.:

Tuesday, May 18

DICK’S Sporting Goods’ Corporate Office (345 Court Street; Coraopolis, Pa.)

Thursday, May 20

RLA Learning and Conference Center (850 Cranberry Woods Dr; Cranberry Township, Pa.)

The network will also partner with several local schools to host onsite Pfizer clinics. The first took place today at Baldwin High School where approximately 100 students ages 16 to 18 received a fist dose of the vaccine. Students will receive their second dose on June 3.

AHN is also holding Pfizer clinics at many of its hospitals across Western Pennsylvania including Allegheny General, Allegheny Valley, Canonsburg, Forbes, Grove City, Saint Vincent and West Penn, as well as at the Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion. Many are held during after-school hours and on weekends.

To make an appointment to receive the vaccine at an upcoming AHN vaccine clinic, visit www.ahn.org/coronavirus/vaccine or call (412) DOCTORS.

Route 351 Fairlane Boulevard Improvements Begin Next Week in Beaver County

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing roadway improvement work on Route 351 (Fairlane Boulevard) in Big Beaver Boulevard, Beaver County will begin Monday, May 17 weather permitting.

Improvement work, including milling and paving, drainage upgrades, base and shoulder repairs, and other various construction related activities, will occur on Route 351 between Route 18 and Shenango Road (Route 4001). To allow the work to occur the roadway will close to traffic beginning at 7 a.m. Monday continuously through Friday, June 11. Through traffic will be detoured.

Posted Detour

West of the Closure

  • Take Route 351 to Route 18
  • Take Route 168 south
  • Turn left onto Route 551
  • Turn left onto Route 18
  • Follow Route 18 back to Route 351
  • End detour

East of the Closure

  • Same detour in the opposite direction

The project is part of a $2.95 million group paving job in Beaver County.  A. Liberoni, Inc. is the prime contractor.

Amazon Air Launches Daily Cargo Service to Pittsburgh

(Moon Twp., Pa.) Amazon Air touched down at Pittsburgh International Airport for the first time Wednesday night, adding Pittsburgh to its expanding U.S. cargo network.

Amazon Air packages will arrive once daily into Pittsburgh via a Boeing 737-800F freighter. The first departure from PIT, packed with cargo, will leave Thursday morning.

It is the latest—and biggest—cargo win for the airport.

“We are excited that Amazon is continuing its investment in the region with the addition of Amazon Air operations at our airport,” said Pittsburgh International Airport CEO Christina Cassotis. “We welcome Amazon Air and look forward to building our partnership. This announcement is a major milestone in positioning PIT as an international logistics center.”

Amazon Air has grown quickly to increase speed and selection for customers around the country, now flying to more than 40 U.S. airports. Its new operation at PIT will allow the company to serve a growing logistics network in Western Pennsylvania.

“Growing the network of sites where Amazon Air flies is essential to supporting fast, free shipping for our customers,” said Chris Preston, Director, Amazon Gateway Operations. “Today, with Pittsburgh International Airport as part of our Amazon Air network, we are closer to our customers and can support fast shipping for the items they rely on. We are proud of the investments Amazon has made in the Pittsburgh region and look forward to continued growth.”

Through a partner lease agreement, Amazon Air will use 50,000 square feet of space at PIT. The facility will include an onsite area to sort packages bound for their next destination and will be managed by an Amazon logistics partner, Trego-Dugan Aviation. The site is expected to support approximately 70 jobs.

Local leaders applauded the arrival.

“We are delighted to welcome Amazon Air to PIT. To have a major logistics company like Amazon locate here reflects confidence in our region and the opportunities at the airport,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “This development, along with the Finnair announcement, really underscores the fact that PIT is becoming a significant cargo and distribution hub.”

Cargo service carries huge economic benefits for regions like Western Pennsylvania because of the downstream economic impact, including handling companies and often trucking.

Cargo has become a bigger part of PIT’s business plan as officials look to build the airport into an international logistics center, capitalizing on its abundant space and ideal geographic location. The arrival of Amazon Air comes as PIT continues to see an increase in demand for air freight amid the pandemic.

In March, the most recent month available, the airport saw a 29 percent increase in cargo compared to 2020. Air freight rose by 27 percent while mail increased 37 percent. The spike in air freight is attributed to cargo carriers utilizing larger aircraft and increasing the number of operations at PIT.

Last month, PIT welcomed international cargo carrier Finnair, which operated short-term nonstop cargo flights from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Finland. The carrier was transporting automotive parts from Asia to North America.

Supply chain challenges during the pandemic have prompted airlines like Finnair to look beyond their traditional networks. Airline officials compared PIT to their Helsinki hub, saying smaller airports can be faster, agile and flexible.

In December, Qatar Airways resumed its cargo operations at PIT and continues its weekly flight on a converted Boeing 777-300ER. Additionally, Cathay Pacific used a similar aircraft for cargo flights between Pittsburgh and Hong Kong that ran twice weekly from September to November of last year.

FedEx and UPS also have upped their operations at PIT, with the carriers increasing year-over-year flights by 46 percent and 83 percent, respectively, in March.

At congested cargo gateways like New York and Chicago, airlines and freight forwarders often have to wait days to get their products offloaded and on the road. At PIT, that can happen in a matter of hours. Cargo carriers have consistently referenced that speed as a major selling point to utilize PIT.

Pa. Department of Health Mask Order Reflects Latest CDC Guidance for Fully Vaccinated Individuals 

Harrisburg, PA – Department of Health Acting Secretary Alison Beam announced that the commonwealth’s mask order reflects the announcement made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier today.

On March 16, 2021, the SOH amended the commonwealth’s mask order by adding language directing to the CDC’s guidance for fully vaccinated people allow for no face coverings. That means that today’s CDC guidelines automatically go into effect in Pennsylvania. Masking requirement will still be in place for unvaccinated individuals until 70 percent of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated.

“Today’s guidance from the CDC affects only people who are fully vaccinated” Acting Secretary Beam said. “This is another incentive to get the vaccine that is now easily and conveniently available. Once 70 percent of Pennsylvanians over 18 are fully vaccinated, we can completely lift the masking order.”

The CDC today provided guidance that fully vaccinated individuals can resume activities that they did prior to the pandemic without wearing a mask or physically distancing except where required by law, rule, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.

For more information on the CDC guidance, visit here.

People can find vaccination locations near them using Vaccines.gov, also known as Vaccine Finder. Individuals also can text their zip code to GETVAX (438829) for English, or VACUNA (822862) for Spanish and receive three possible vaccination sites in their area.

Blackhawk School Board Holds Meeting

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

(Chippewa Township, PA) The Blackhawk School Board held a virtual meeting tonight.  The board stated that the district is going to hold an outdoor graduation ceremony at their stadium with standard commencement admission, which is 6 tickets given out per student. If weather becomes an issue, the ceremony will be held indoors and students will only be given 4 tickets.  The meeting then progressed into a heated discussion over a new proposed tax increase.  While the board ultimately approved a one mill increase, there was opposition among the board to whether or not they could increase revenue and funds by eliminating teaching positions and certain classes. One board member suggested the school needs to be run more as a business, to which he proposed that certain classes and teachers such as in the music and art departments be eliminated since some of those classes have only 6 students, while suggesting those students could just join another elective.  This prompted an argument with other board members stating that they have absolutely no interest in taking those classes away from students.  The board went on to approve a temporary road agreement with Penn Power, as well as to allow a dance academy to rent the high school auditorium for a recital.  Also approved were the positions of three middle school basketball coaches, and the resignations of 2 athletic trainers and a paraprofessional. The district will also continue to require mask wearing, until the PA Department of Education says otherwise. You can hear audio from the meeting below.

CDC: Fully vaccinated people can largely ditch masks indoors

CDC: Fully vaccinated people can largely ditch masks indoors
By ZEKE MILLER and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is easing indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to safely stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and inside in most places. The new guidance is a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life. It still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters but will help ease restrictions for reopening workplaces and schools. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, says, “We have all longed for this moment — when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”

Amazon Seeks to Hire 75,000; Offers $100 to Vaccinated Hires

By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is seeking to hire 75,000 people in a tight job market and is offering bonuses to attract workers, including $100 for new hires who are already vaccinated for COVID-19. The jobs are for delivery and warehouse workers, who pack and ship online orders. Amazon, which already pays at least $15 an hour, gave out raises for some of its workers last month, and the company said Thursday that new hires will make an average of $17 an hour. Amazon didn’t say if it is having trouble finding workers, but other companies have said they are as Americans start traveling and going out again. In many parts of the country, Seattle-based Amazon said it will offer a $1,000 sign-on bonus to new hires.

When Will COVID-19 Vaccines Be Widely Available Globally?

By VICTORIA MILKO AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Experts say it could be 2023 or later before COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in some countries. The United States and Israel are among the nations where about half or more of the population has gotten at least one shot. But less than 1% of people have been vaccinated in countries such as Pakistan and Venezuela. The differences reflect factors including purchasing power and domestic production capacity. COVAX, a coalition working to ensure global vaccine access, is behind schedule due partly to export bans and stockpiling by some countries. In April, Duke University researchers said many countries would not be able to reach 60% coverage until 2023 or later.

Judge Weighing Relevance of Ahmaud Arbery’s Mental Health

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia judge is resuming a hearing on legal motions in the murder case of three men facing a fall trial in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery. Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley planned Thursday to revisit defense attorneys’ push for permission to show the trial jury evidence involving Arbery’s mental health. They argue mental illness could have played a role in the Feb. 23, 2020, slaying. Prosecutors object, saying it’s a ploy by defense lawyers to blame Arbery for his own death. Travis McMichael and his father, Greg McMichael, armed themselves and pursued the 25-year-old Black man in a pickup truck as he ran past their home just outside the port city of Brunswick. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, is also charged.

Some Proms Are Back, With Masks, Testing And Distancing

By MICHAEL CASEY and CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — A year after the pandemic canceled most proms, school districts around the country are considering whether they can once again hold the formal dance for seniors. Striking a balance between safety and fun, districts are requiring masks and booking outdoor venues like baseball stadiums or setting up tents. Some are requiring a negative test while others are encouraging attendees to get vaccinated. Still, there are plenty of districts that concluded proms remain too risky. School districts in Miami and El Paso cancelled their proms. In response, some parents and students are forging ahead anyways and organizing their own dances.