PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers visited a mobile vaccination clinic in Mt. Airy Friday afternoon to promote the safety and importance of getting COVID-19 vaccines, but he stopped short of requiring them, or requiring face masks in schools.
Wolf said he would not take the step to mandate vaccines at this point, like the step New York City took to require vaccines for dining indoors or going to gyms. He also said he would not mandate masking in schools, though he might change his mind.
“I’m not exactly sure what New York City is doing, being that we’re going to do what I think is best for Pennsylvania," Wolf said.
“People, patrons are going to be making up their own minds as to whether they feel safe going to restaurants.“
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As for schools, Wolf said the CDC is not mandating masks in schools, so he won't be, either. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has mandated masking up inside schools in his state.
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Short of mandating vaccinations to participate in activities, Jefferson Emergency Room Dr. Morgan Hutchinson said the most effective way to encourage people to get vaccinated is to tell friends and family members.
“If you are vaccinated, talk to them about your own experience and talk to them about how important it is that they get vaccinated, too," said Hutchinson.
Yarnell Fowler of Philadelphia was among those receiving his first COVID-19 vaccination shot in the parking lot of St. Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church when Wolf came Friday.
At first, Fowler said tragedy spurred him on to get the vaccine.
"Because my mother passed away from it in December," he said.
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"All she said was she had a sniffle in her nose, she had a bad cough, and the next thing you know she passed out and that was it...it went fast. She wasn’t a smoker. She wasn’t a drinker. She wasn’t overweight. It just went through her just like that. She was 64.“
But December was eight months ago. Watching her pass away wasn’t enough to convince him to get a shot when vaccines became available earlier this year.
“I just wanted to wait a couple of months to see how things go," he said.
“Family, friends, colleagues, all of that.“
He admitted the big push was New York's new vaccine mandate this week.
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"Especially with the type of work that I do in New York City, and with New York coming out with the rule that you have to be vaccinated in order to go into gyms and I’m a gym guy, it was needed," Fowler said.
"That was a big part."