Last April, seven weeks into the pandemic, I graded Gov. Tom Wolf on his administration’s handling of the emerging crisis.
I gave him a C+.
His performance to that point was sufficient but not stellar. He excelled in some areas and failed in others.
A year later, COVID-19 continues to threaten the lives and livelihoods of Pennsylvanians. Wolf, a Democrat, has renewed his emergency declaration four times. His administration’s decisions continue to have a significant impact on the lives of residents and businesses.
So it’s time to issue him another report card, for his decisions in the past year.
Vaccines: B
Pennsylvania’s vaccination program is faring OK now, but had a poor start.
The Wolf administration’s failure to create a central registration system for people to sign up for an appointment online and by phone left seniors scrambling to find shots. They spent hours futilely calling pharmacies, clinics, hospitals and health bureaus, and checking their websites.
The state stopped sending vaccines to some health care providers and instead directed larger quantities to providers who were able to distribute them more quickly. While it made sense to reward the most efficient, reducing the number of vaccination locations forced some people to travel farther.
The Wolf administration’s plan to dedicate the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to teachers first, and then to essential workers in other occupations such as public safety, was wise. Pennsylvania is maximizing that vaccine.
While other states allowed everyone to be vaccinated in late March and early April, Wolf smartly stuck with the plan to vaccinate people in phases, based on their age, health and occupation. That ensured that those most at risk received priority.
As of Wednesday, 35% of Pennsylvania’s eligible population had received at least their first dose of vaccine. That ranked 11th in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Business restrictions: B
It hasn’t been easy balancing public health and economic needs, but Wolf has done pretty well. Overall, his administration’s rules have been reasonable.
Restrictions could have been lifted sooner in some counties last spring, and outdoor businesses such as golf courses and construction sites shouldn’t have been shut down for so long. Wolf should have expanded capacity sooner at some venues, particularly outdoor events last fall such as high school football games.
I wasn’t convinced that the three-week closure of gyms, indoor dining at restaurants and other businesses in December would make much difference. I was wrong. That surge ended and cases and hospitalizations fell.
The decision to prohibit bar seating, require food to be served with alcohol and to stop alcohol sales at 11 p.m. wasn’t popular. But it made sense. When people drink, they let their guard down and make poor decisions. Those rules, which were rescinded April 4, limited opportunities for people to gather just to drink for extended periods.
Unemployment compensation: F
My support for some of Wolf’s business restrictions is tempered by the fact that Pennsylvania failed miserably in getting unemployment compensation to workers who lost their jobs or were furloughed because of them.
Problems were to be expected at the onset of the pandemic when the unemployment office was buried with claims. But those problems dragged on for too long.
Customer service has been inadequate, to put it politely.
The Department of Labor & Industry announced about a month ago that it would hire at least another 500 customer service representatives. But they aren’t all expected to be brought aboard until June.
Why is this just now happening? The Wolf administration previously added staff to the department, but it obviously wasn’t enough. That should have been a bigger priority.
The department hasn’t done enough to help those who were victimized by scammers who filed phony claims under their names. Some of those people now are facing tax liabilities because of unemployment payments they never asked for or received.
Nursing homes: C
Wolf has been criticized for ordering nursing homes to take patients infected with COVID-19. Many people believe that fueled the outbreaks that led to deaths.
While not the best solution, what other options were available? The infected patients couldn’t remain in the hospital when they no longer needed hospital-level care — at least not during the multiple surges of the virus, because beds were needed for new COVID patients.
Many were living in nursing homes when they caught the virus. The fact that they were in a care facility means they weren’t able to live at home with their spouse or other family. So it’s not like they could go back home.
I question whether the Wolf administration adequately prepared nursing homes and other senior care facilities to take sick residents. But my biggest beef was the administration’s tardiness in reopening nursing homes to visitors once residents had been vaccinated.
It didn’t ease restrictions on visitors until mid-March, after the CDC recommended allowing visitors again. Pennsylvania didn’t have to wait for federal guidance. It could have allowed visitors sooner on its own accord.
Once residents were vaccinated, they should have been able to see friends and relatives, especially if their visitors were vaccinated, too.
Transparency: F
Wolf campaigned on transparency. During the pandemic, when the public deserves information to understand his administration’s life-altering decisions, the blinds have been drawn far too often.
His administration repeatedly has invoked the state’s Disease Prevention and Control Law in refusing to release government records related to the pandemic. Several times, the state Office of Open Records has ruled the law was being applied too broadly and documents must be released.
The law, enacted in 1955, is intended to protect information about contagious diseases, including the identities of the people who have been infected. But Wolf and his staff have used it as an excuse to hide much more.
The Wolf administration recently cited the law in refusing to provide records to Spotlight PA about wasted vaccine doses, including how many have been discarded by each provider.
The public deserves to know if some providers aren’t handling the valuable vaccines appropriately. That’s not going to expose anyone’s health information.
The public will continue to crave information about the pandemic, especially as we are forced to follow rules that Wolf and his administration set under the governor’s emergency powers. It’s not too late for him to live up to his promise to be transparent.
Overall grade: C
Wolf has been steady and has done an adequate job of leading Pennsylvania through the coronavirus crisis in the past year. He is nearing the end of his second and final term, so he has no motive to score political points.
I believe he is acting genuinely, with the public’s best interest in mind.
That said, his administration’s lack of transparency is disappointing, and people relying on unemployment compensation deserve better service.
Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com
