Selected news coverage of In This Together Cambria-Somerset’s activities is listed below.
2023
March 8: In This Together Cambria receives partnership award from University of Pittsburgh. “We were talking earlier about how if we had got one person to make a good decision when it came to COVID and their health or the health of their family, then we did good work,” Kiel said. “I think it brought out the best in everybody involved.”
2022
May 22: Music and medicine: ‘Jammin’ 4 Jabs’ event salutes, encourages region’s navigation of pandemic. “Nearly 50 people received vaccinations at the event, mostly boosters, said Highlands Health office manager Felipe Lucio, whose nonprofit clinic partnered with Johnstown Area Heritage Association and The Tribune-Democrat to hold the event.”
May 20: Editorial | ‘Jammin’ for Jabs’ a party, and a reminder to be safe. ““We have room for improvement, but we are still leading our area,” Jill Henning, a Pitt-Johnstown associate professor of biology, said. “We want to continue the positive momentum.”
May 20, Concert Event, Jammin’ 4 Jabs, this weekend in Johnstown. Forever Media interview with Dr. Jill Henning and Dr. Matt Tracey.
Apr. 16: Vaccination celebration: Concert planned to continue momentum against COVID-19. “The daylong event, Jammin’ 4 Jabs, will be held at Peoples Natural Gas Park in downtown Johnstown on May 21 ‘to reward, encourage and get people talking’ about getting vaccinated against COVID-19 – including booster shots.”
Mar. 29: ‘Not always easy’: UPJ panel weighs wide-ranging viewpoints on public responsibility vs. personal rights during COVID-19 era. “The issue that arises, noted chemistry professor Matthew Tracey, “is that science only works if everyone buys in,” likening 50% public mask usage to a half-room of non-smokers inside the smoking section of a bar.”
Feb. 22: UPJ professors: Not the time to let guard down against COVID-19, The Tribune-Democrat. “It may cause a milder illness, but by the sheer volume of cases … it can overwhelm our hospitals,” said Jill Henning, whose background is in immunology and infectious diseases.
2021
Oct. 25: Cambria County records 500th COVID death, The Tribune-Democrat. “I think the message is clear that getting people vaccinated is the way for us to prevent more deaths in our county,” Ashlee Kiel said.
Sept. 23: Matthew Tracey: A history lesson in brand new science, The Tribune-Democrat. “With every single vaccine dating back to polio in the 1960s, there has never been a reported “long-term” side effect that appeared more than three months post inoculation.”
Sept. 17: COVID Questions forum provides opportunity for dialogue with scientists as surge continues, The Tribune-Democrat. As the nation experiences another surge in COVID-19 cases, another installment of the virtual town hall series “COVID Questions” was held Thursday over a live-streamed Zoom call presented by In This Together Cambria, The Tribune-Democrat and Pitt-Johns-town.
Aug. 11: Pushing back against misleading, false information, The Tribune-Democrat. “With the start of a new school year approaching, many are returning to the mask debate surrounding COVID-19 and the virus SARS-CoV-2,” writes Dr. Jill Henning.
Jun. 18: Data show vaccine variance by race, The Tribune-Democrat. “Henning, in her role with In This Together Cambria, provided information about vaccines during the Juneteenth celebration in Johnstown’s Central Park on Thursday.”
May 28: UPJ biologist puts theater background to good use in COVID-19 efforts, The Tribune-Democrat. “This movement has expanded to so much more than I thought it could be, because I have so many great partners that are committed to helping the community in so many ways,” Jill Henning said.
May 14: Drama draws parallels between 1918 flu and COVID-19 pandemics, The Tribune-Democrat. “I am hoping that that realization really hits home with some people in a way it might not have before,” Paul Newman said. “Maybe to see voices from the past can be helpful to people to understand that they are not being hoodwinked. This thing is not a hoax.”
Apr. 28: Higher education leaders: ‘We have had to pivot’ during pandemic, The Tribune-Democrat. “But we simply don’t have all the answers. Families and community members have to be patient. This is a situation none of us has ever experienced before,” said Erin McCloskey.
Apr. 23: Next COVID Questions forum to tackle higher education, The Tribune-Democrat.
Apr. 21: Recalling the 1918 flu pandemic: ‘The numbers horrified them’, The Tribune-Democrat. “It got so bad in Philadelphia by early September that about half of the doctors and nurses from Conemaugh Hospital got on a Pennsylvania Railroad train and went to Philadelphia to help in the hospitals,” Newman said.
Apr. 20: CLICK AND WATCH: 1918 flu discussion to be held before film premiere, The Tribune-Democrat. “The response is remarkably similar to what we’ve experienced in the last year,” University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown history professor Paul Newman said.
Apr. 13: CLICK AND WATCH: COVID Questions forum provides update on vaccine roll-out, The Tribune-Democrat.
Apr. 7: School leaders see challenges and benefits during pandemic response, The Tribune-Democrat. “Focus on what you have gained,” Greater Johnstown High School Principal Michael Dadey said. “That’s important to mention to these students, to these parents.”
Mar. 31: ‘We adapted’: Program celebrates a year of local COVID-19 ‘resilience’, The Tribune-Democrat. “Resilience arises when we cultivate our capacity to adapt to changes in circumstances, while at the same time – even in the midst of horrific challenges – we can find meaning, purpose and connection in life,” Rachel Allen said.
Mar. 29: In This Together: Virtual session will mark a year of COVID-19 in region, The Tribune-Democrat. “‘While we can never forget the hardship and losses of last year, In This Together felt it was necessary to acknowledge the community’s strength and celebrate the bright, joyful moments we had in a time of darkness,’ said Tulsi Shrivastava of In This Together Cambria.”
Mar. 28: ‘We Are All In This Together’: UPJ-led project compares 1918 flu, COVID-19 pandemics, The Tribune-Democrat, “A lot of individuals respond better when you tell them stories of history and relate to them about what has already been done,” Jill Henning said.
Mar. 24: Business leaders see ‘silver lining’ through pandemic, The Tribune-Democrat. “They just kept reinventing themselves,” Amy Bradley said. “A lot of that is going to stick and make them better in the long run.”
Mar. 9: CLICK AND WATCH: Casey to headline COVID-19 forum; state, local officials will also speak, The Tribune-Democrat. “Since battling her illness, King has felt called to share her story to “help anyone make a decision so that they can avoid what I have gone through.””
Mar. 3: Doctors: Battling virus ‘has definitely been challenging’, The Tribune-Democrat. “Verma explained how the virus affects so many different organs. He compared it to a band of robbers who are first located in one neighborhood, but go into other areas as the police – which he compared to the body’s immune system – give chase.”
Feb. 24: Vaccine science, safety detailed during forum, The Tribune-Democrat. “If there was something that was going to happen, it would have happened by now,” Jill Henning said. “You are not in the first round now.”
Feb. 17: Panel: Kids resilient, but quarantine can bring stress for families, The Tribune-Democrat. “Martha Faust, who works with younger children, offered this sobering fact: ‘Because of the pandemic, 2-year-olds have spent half of their lives in quarantine.'”
Feb. 10: Experts offer tips on coping with mental health concerns related to pandemic, The Tribune-Democrat. “This collective grief that we are all going through on all different levels needs to be experienced. The best way for us to move through grief, honestly, is to let it come and to gain some insight from it,” said Angie Richard.
Feb. 7: Prominent individuals creating videos on fight against COVID-19, The Tribune-Democrat. “They still care about this community,” Todd Holsopple, an In This Together Cambria organizer, said. “They still care about their hometowns because it influences and impacts who they are so very much.”
Jan. 27: Experts at forum: Numbers don’t lie on COVID-19 data, The Tribune-Democrat. “With so much information circulating on social media, it can be difficult to gauge what is accurate, but numbers and raw data hardly ever tell a lie,” In This Together Cambria volunteer Tulsi Shrivastava said during the event.
Jan. 20: WATCH VIDEO | ‘Lights of Remembrance’: Local gathering illuminates pandemic’s toll in Cambria County, The Tribune-Democrat. “Volunteers with In This Together Cambria and the 1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health placed 340 luminaries atop the wall – one for each county resident who died from COVID-19 through Tuesday.”
Jan. 19: Cambria County remembers hundreds of lives lost to COVID-19 with bridge illumination, WJAC-TV. “’One of the hardest part of this time, which makes it a little bit different than other parts of history, is that we have not had an opportunity to grieve in the way we normally do. Big funerals have been out,’ said Ashlee Kiel.”
2020
Dec. 24: ‘You are not alone’: Zoom service offers Words of Comfort, The Tribune-Democrat. “‘You are not alone in your suffering,’ Kelly Warshel said. ‘We are grieving the loss of the life that we used to know as normal.’”
Dec. 23: Expert: Holiday gathering decisions ‘daunting’ but important to limiting spread of virus, The Tribune-Democrat. “’We have all these ‘ifs’ to consider, and it can get daunting and very overwhelming to try to figure out what you should do,’ Jill Henning said. ‘I find it to be quite anxiety-inducing and I spend my life looking at diseases and how they spread.'”
Dec. 20: UPJ, T-D team up for town hall series on COVID-19, The Tribune-Democrat. “’With the COVID-19 pandemic being as severe as it is here in Cambria County, it is important, now more than ever, that we understand what we are hearing in the news, what it means and how to respond,’ Jill Henning said.”
Dec. 19: Locals create “In This Together Cambria,” encouraging community to help end pandemic, WJAC-TV. “”In This Together Cambria’ started as a group of people who decided we were tired of waiting for someone else to step in and do something. We needed to do something ourselves,’ Ashlee Kiel said.”
Dec. 17: Group launches website for sharing personal stories of COVID-19’s impact, The Tribune-Democrat. “’The storytelling, in particular, was something we feel really passionately about,’ said Portage Township resident Ashlee Kiel, an organizer of the group. ‘We think that storytelling is a good way to help people understand that this isn’t just a problem for other places, that COVID is here, and it’s in our communities, and it’s hurting our neighbors, and friends and families.'”