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Description
From the Stated Meeting pf Philadelphia City Council held Thursday, May 6. 2021:
Councilmember Allan Domb's remarks on vaccine distribution challenges.
A
A
This
administration
has
failed
to
meet
the
moment
and
the
consequence
of
failures
now
becoming
apparent
for
all
of
us
to
see.
In
less
than
two
weeks,
the
suburbs
of
philadelphia
will
open
up
for
business,
weddings
and
sporting
events.
Their
bars
and
restaurants
will
be
fully
opened.
In
short,
life
we'll
be
returning
to
a
new
normal
in
counties
all
around
us
from
bucks
to
chester,
montgomery
to
delaware,
allegheny
to
erie
jersey,
shore
of
the
poconos.
A
The
pandemic
way
of
life
will
be
fast
disappearing
in
the
rearview
mirror,
except
for
mass
brown,
but
not
for
us.
When
the
governor
announced
his
plan
to
reopen
this
administration
said
we'll
talk
later.
So,
where
does
that
leave
us
businesses
limited
to
two
employees
per
1000
square
feet?
Restaurants,
limited
to
50
capacity,
weddings
will
be
capped
at
75
guests
and
our
stadiums
will
be
less
than
50
percent
occupancy,
and
why
is
this
happening
yesterday?
We
all
had
a
chance
to
ask
health
commissioner
harley,
where
we
stood
on
vaccine
distribution.
A
I
asked
dr
probably
two
very
basic
questions.
At
least
I
thought
they
were
pretty
basic.
How
many
vaccines
are
we
sitting
on
that?
We
don't
have
the
capacity
to
distribute
and
number
two.
How
many
vaccines
are
our
providers
sitting
on
that
they
don't
have
the
capacity
to
distribute.
He
could
not
answer
either
question.
A
A
A
We're
now
told
that
our
failure
is
the
fault
of
our
constituents
that
they're
vaccine
hesitant
and
it's
a
problem
across
the
country.
These
are
nothing
but
poor
excuses.
In
my
opinion,
for
the
failure
to
plan
our
vaccine
hesitancy
rate
is
at
17
17,
one
point
higher
than
the
state's
vaccine
hesitancy
rate
and
two
points
lower
than
the
national
average.
So
it's
hard
for
me
to
believe
it's
because
our
constituents
don't
want
the
vaccine.
A
Yes,
there's
vaccine
hesitancy
in
this
country,
but
it's
mostly
prevalent
in
red
states
that
don't
even
believe
in
the
vaccines.
Yes
in
blue
states
like
new
york
and
new
jersey
and
in
blue
counties
like
our
suburbs,
the
demand
has
plateaued,
but
the
suburbs
and
neighboring
states.
They
had
a
plan
to
scale
up
distribution
as
the
vaccine
supply
scaled
up.
They
were
delivering
their
doses
as
they
received
them
and
now,
despite
the
plateau
in
demand,
they're
all
on
a
path
to
meet
president
biden's
july,
4
timeline.
A
We
started
sitting
on
our
doses
weeks
ago,
because
we
had
no
plan
now
looks
like
we
won't
meet
the
president's
timeline
of
july
4th.
Yesterday,
I
called
on
the
department
of
public
health
to
provide
us
with
a
written
plan
for
spending
the
millions
of
dollars
in
new
federal
aid
for
vaccine
distribution
in
philadelphia.
A
I
fear
we're
writing
it
as
we
speak
and
as
our
council
body
asks
these
questions,
this
plan
should
include
a
pathway
for
scaling
up
distribution
and
convenient
drive-through
and
walk-up
sites
all
over
the
city
of
philadelphia.
It
should
include
an
advertising
campaign
around
these
sites
and
everywhere
you
turn.
You
should
see
it
something
that's
more
than
social
media
and
fill
up.
Your
accounts
running
a
phone
bank.
A
A
We
should
spend
more
money
on
media
than
we
collectively
spent
on
our
election
campaigns.
This
is
more
important.
That's
what
federal
money
should
be
used
for
at
this
point
on
the
4th
of
july
soon,
in
the
birthplace
of
liberty
and
freedom,
let's
not
be
the
only
city
in
america
where
freedom
and
liberty
are
still
being
held
hostage
to
this
pandemic.
A
I
hope
this
body
continues
to
ask
the
questions
we've
been
asking,
but,
more
importantly,
I
hope
we
get
the
answers
our
constituents
deserve
and
that
we
quickly
put
a
plan
of
action
in
place
to
meet
president
biden's
july.
4Th
goal
on
a
separate
note.
I
just
want
to
wish
all
of
my
colleagues
who
are
moms
happy
mother's
day,
know
the
moms
out
there
and
all
those
who
lost
their
mom
this
past
year,
like
myself
and
just
remember
the
good
memories
of
your
mom
and
how
great
your
mom
helped
you
and
moms
are
the
best.