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Feb. 13-19 Explained: Unemployment Scams, Vaccine Mistakes & A Two-Year Window For Justice

Steven Senne
/
AP
A passer-by walks past an empty building that was formerly a restaurant, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Boston.

On this week's Explainer:

As many as 100,000 Pennsylvanians could see their COVID-19 vaccine appointments rescheduled due to an error in communication, the state announced this week. WITF reporter Brett Sholtis has been trying to untangle exactly what happened and how many people were affected

Tens of thousands of residents may have recently gotten news that they owe taxes on money they never received. Economic reporter Kate Giammarise reports many Pennsylvanians' identities were stolen and used to collect unemployment. 

Victims of childhood sexual abuse have lobbied for years to have the state’s statute of limitations changed. An amendment to the state constitution that was supposed to go to voters this spring would have opened up a two-year window for survivors to sue their alleged abusers. But an administrative error by the Department of State means that won’t happen, and Keystone Crossroads' Laura Benshoff reports the mistake has left many survivors stunned and angry.

Pittsburgh Explainer is hosted by Liz Reid and produced by Katie Blackley. New episodes come out every Friday. Listen on the NPR One app or subscribe on iTunesGoogle PlayStitcherSpotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Katie Blackley is a digital editor/producer for 90.5 WESA and 91.3 WYEP, where she writes, edits and generates both web and on-air content for features and daily broadcast. She's the producer and host of our Good Question! series and podcast. She also covers history and the LGBTQ community. kblackley@wesa.fm