Nina Feldman

The day after Philadelphia became the first U.S. city to reinstate an indoor mask mandate, its transit agency announced it would drop its mandate in accordance with TSA guidelines.

Even if you don't have long COVID, it can still take weeks to recover — much longer than the isolation period implies. Millions of Americans are finding that this still majorly disrupts their lives.

At 16, Nicolas Montero is old enough to get vaccinated on his own in some parts of the country. But he had to try to get the jabs without his parents knowing, since they're opposed to the vaccine.

It's not a matter of vaccine hesitancy, say advocates. Instead, poorly located clinics, lack of flexible appointments and other barriers to access are hampering Philadelphia's hardest-hit communities.

A federal appeals court ruled the effort by nonprofit Safehouse to open a "supervised injection site" to prevent overdose deaths is laudable but illegal under the so-called federal crack house law.

Officials may be relying on people to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 at a time when the public is simply not afraid enough anymore to keep up the recommended behaviors.

Public officials continue to send mixed messages about the pandemic: We're open for business, but also, stay home if you can. Without clear guidance, people feel confused or stop trying to be safe.

The messaging around what to do to protect yourself in the pandemic has been mixed, and many say it's making them feel unqualified to make important safety decisions.

Relaxed regulations in response to the pandemic means more access to addiction treatment medications. But recovery programs are accepting fewer people, and the danger of overdose remains high.

Efforts to combat Philadelphia's opioid crisis with a supervised injection site could be stymied by a portion of federal law meant to protect neighborhoods during the crack epidemic of the 1980s.