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Understanding vaccine hesitancy in communities of color

The COVID-19 vaccination rate in the Black community lagged well behind that of Whites in the early vaccine rollout, but the gap has narrowed over time. Surveys show that COVID-19 vaccine acceptance increased faster among Black individuals than among White individuals since December 2020. A key factor seems to be that Black individuals more rapidly came to believe that vaccines were necessary to protect themselves and their communities. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that 78% of the total population in the United States has received at least ...

Are voters tired of Trump?

DOYLESTOWN — Richard Tems was about as loyal a Trump supporter as you can get. The Bucks County businessman and GOP committeeman has fiercely defended former President Donald Trump in editorials, interviews with reporters and conversations with anyone within earshot. He voted for Trump twice and believed he was the right president at the right time. However, eight years after the New York businessman and entertainer came down the escalator in Trump Tower in June 2015, Tems said he would move on in next year’s Pennsylvania primary. He plans to vote instead for Gov. Ron DeSantis, ...

When the next pandemic comes — will we be ready?

“It’s going to be bad,” my wife said. Like many people, I had paid little attention to the “novel coronavirus,” but my wife has always followed the news more closely than I have. She was right. Despite knowing something of history and having worked in healthcare for over 40 years, I never expected to live through a pandemic, especially not one that lasted so long as COVID-19 has. I never thought I would see so many people die so quickly unless the nuclear attack that we practiced for in school happened. But here we are. Fortunately, we got a lot of things right. Previous ...

Proposal will increase food insecurity, not jobs

Congressional leadership last week proposed cutting food assistance that helps our neighbors thrive and economy grow. As part of the debt ceiling negotiations, U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled the Limit, Save, Grow Act, a plan that would cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and make it even harder for our neighbors to access much needed food assistance. As executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, a Feeding America food bank distributing charitable food in 27 mid-state counties including Lycoming, and with facilities in Williamsport ...

The Federal Reserve’s ‘credibility’

I have heard some people say that the Federal Reserve has a credibility problem. The agency missed the biggest inflation spike since the 1980s, was slow to start rolling back pandemic policies and failed to spot the risks that some banks, such as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), were facing. Instead of instilling confidence and stability, the Fed’s policy communication has at times been so unclear and confused that it has only served to exacerbate market volatility. Credibility is a big enough problem, but unfortunately the Fed’s issues go beyond that. The Fed as an institution, along ...

I am over inaccurate, misleading misinformation about COVID-19

I am over it. You probably have said this to yourself and you probably have heard others state the same thing, “I am over it.” Well, I am over social media, political influence and anyone putting their spin on the day’s happenings. Speak with five people who witnessed an event, and you will most likely find five different interpretations of what happened. These observations are often formed from opinions, beliefs and perhaps what one wants to think happened. Our judicial system understands this fact. It takes twelve of our peers to look at an incident and figure out what has ...