The Regional Roundup [1/10/22]

We’ll discuss the latest on Omicron, boosters, vaccine mandates in our region, demand for testing sites and the trouble with obtaining an at-home rapid test.

Guest: Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, Health Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia

Much uncertainty swirls around students, teachers and parents as Covid cases rise and staff shortages impact schools across the nation.

Guest: Ashley Bencan, former Philly schoolteacher and co-founder of ConnectED Workforce

When you think about fashion waste, you might picture piles of shirts and pants in a landfill. But everything leading up to garment production, like fabric testing and sourcing, contributes to climate change, and one organization is working to change the cycle.

Guest: Camille Tagle, co-founder and creative director of FABSCRAP

We Recommend:

WHYY Keystone Crossroads:  ‘It’s a math problem’: Philly educators scramble amid omicron wave “For the first time this school year, the city education system faces the prospect of a widespread shift back to virtual. How many schools and for how long? No one quite knows.”

WHYY: Is a second vaccine booster in our future?  “One of the reasons that omicron is spreading so rapidly is that there’s just less immunity going around to this particular virus. So the theory is: Give another booster. Build the wall against omicron virus a little higher.”

WHYY: Fabric recycler FABSCRAP wants to make Philly designers greener “In 2018, 11.3 million tons of textile waste ended up in U.S. landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.”