Westmoreland commissioners to hold info session on coronavirus vaccines

Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners want the public to learn about coronavirus vaccines and will convene a webinar this week to pass along information they said will allow residents to make a more informed decision about whether they will join the ongoing immunity effort.

Commissioners Doug Chew and Sean Kertes said the Facebook question-and-answer session featuring a presentation from a medical researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is not affiliated with Westmoreland County government. Both commissioners said they did not want to impose any potential costs to taxpayers or expose the county to liability issues.

Chew, who worked as a biochemist at Pitt before taking office in 2020, said the goal of the webinar is to provide a meaningful discussion of the vaccines in use and describe how they were made and work, as well as information about their safety.

“Both Sean and I have read emails and gotten calls from constituents about the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are new types of vaccines based on RNA. RNA vaccines have been studied in the lab for the last 20 years, and the public should be able to ask questions,” Chew said. “Our goal is that people can come away with an understanding that these RNA vaccines are safe and allow people to ask questions.”

The free webinar is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Advance reservation is required and can be accessed through a link on Chew’s Facebook page: Chew 4 You.

Chew enlisted former colleague Dr. Jeremy Berg, who serves as associate senior vice chancellor for science strategy and planning, health sciences, and professor of computational and systems biology in Pitt’s School of Medicine. From 2013-16, Berg oversaw Pitt’s Institute for Precision Medicine that applies genetics, genomics and research in other areas to advance evidence-based medicine and treatments tailored to individual patients.

According to his biography, Berg previously served as director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, one of the National Institutes of Health, where he oversaw a $2 billion budget supporting basic research across a wide range of areas, including cell biology, genetics, biological chemistry, bioinformatics, anesthesiology, wound healing and critical care medicine. He also was director of the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Berg could not be reached for comment.

Kertes, who like Chew was infected with coronavirus in the fall, said he supports the vaccines and will take one when he is advised to by his doctor. Kertes said he is dealing with lingering medical issues related to his infection.

“We just want to let the public know about the vaccines; we’re not pushing them,” Kertes said. “It’s just a tool for people on the fence. We have people who want the vaccine, but nobody is talking about how it works.”

Chew said more than 70 people have registered for the event.

Although eligible, Chew has not yet been vaccinated but will do so in the coming months, he said.

“I have a hard time getting vaccinated when my office is getting 50 calls a day from seniors who want it but can’t get it,” he said.

Both commissioners have accused state Health Department officials of providing insufficient amounts of vaccine to the county and called for dose allocations to increase. They also rejected calls to create a central countywide registry of local residents seeking the vaccine.