Welcome to the ECE Recap where you can find the
most recent and important information from the
Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL).
OCDEL Releases Special Announcement

The PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has released a Special Announcement which includes information about:
  • Extended Suspension of Regulatory Provisions
  • ELRC Policy Announcement 21 #08 Keystone STARS Designation Extensions
  • Delayed New Streamlined Keystone STARS Designation System Rollout Message
Announcement 21 #09 Child Care Works (CCW) Payment During the Ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), Bureau of Early Learning Policy and Professional Development, has released the Announcement 21 #09 Child Care Works (CCW) Payment During the Ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Announcement provides updated guidance regarding Child Care Works (CCW) payment to child care programs participating in CCW and to ELRC staff. This updated policy obsoletes the following announcements in their entirety effective Sept. 30, 2021:
  • ELRC Policy Announcement 21 #06 Restoring Child Care Works Invoicing, Attendance and Payment Policies
  • ELRC Policy Announcement 21 #04 Child Care Works Payment During the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19); and
  • ELRC Policy Announcement 20 #17 Child Care Works Payment During the Proclamation of Disaster Emergency
COVID Vaccine Booster Information
On Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, the CDC issued the recommendation for Comirnaty Pfizer-BioNTech booster doses for the following populations, at least six months following the second dose of their Pfizer primary series:
  • people 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settings aged 18 and above should receive a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vx,
  • people aged 50–64 years with underlying medical conditions should receive a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vx,
  • people aged 18–49 years with underlying medical conditions may receive a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vx, based on their individual benefits and risks, and
  • people aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may receive a booster shot of of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vx, based on their individual benefits and risks. Working in child care where children cannot be vaccinated yet is an occupational risk.
 
Following this recommendation, eligible individuals should be able to begin scheduling appointments and receiving booster doses.
 
The dosage and medicine of the Comirnaty Pfizer BioNTech vaccine are the same in the primary doses, the additional doses for people with compromised immune systems, and the booster doses for people over age 65 and at high risk for COVID-19.
 
Please await further public health guidance regarding booster doses for individuals who received the Moderna or Janssen vaccines for their primary series. The publicly available evidence for booster doses of the Moderna and Janssen vaccines to date is encouraging, and the Department of Health awaits the FDA and CDC’s decisions.
 
Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do to protect Pennsylvanians from COVID-19. 
COVID-19 Vaccination for Pregnant People to Prevent Serious Illness, Deaths, and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes from COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends urgent action to increase Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination among people who are pregnant, recently pregnant (including those who are lactating), who are trying to become pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future. CDC strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccination either before or during pregnancy because the benefits of vaccination outweigh known or potential risks. Read more.
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