Aubrey Whelan
@aubreywhelan.bsky.social
Reporter covering public health, addiction, hospital workforces, and other health stuff for @inquirer.com. Pronouns: she/her. South Philly forever. Contact me on Signal: aubreywhelan.73 https://www.inquirer.com/author/whelan_aubrey
HHS cut funding without warning for a teen pregnancy prevention program in Philly -- despite approving its curriculum last year, nonprofit leaders say: www.inquirer.com/health/acces...
Federal officials abruptly cut funding for a teen pregnancy prevention program in Philadelphia
AccessMatters was one of dozens of organizations around the country that had received funding under a federal teen pregnancy prevention grant program.
inquirer.com
Hosting clinics in advance of a new school year has been a tradition for health departments. But vaccination efforts have extra urgency this year: Measles cases have reached their highest rate in more than 30 years in Pennsylvania, with a total of 142 cases reported as of Monday.
Delaware County launches vaccine campaign as Pa. measles cases reach highest level in more than 30 years
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Downed trees came following a series of four “microbursts,” which brought wind gusts traveling 60 to 70 miles per hour to the region. Those isolated instances of high winds primarily impacted parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County. (1/3)
Philly’s trees sustained unprecedented damage in the microburst storms, Parks commissioner says
Isolated instances of high winds primarily impacted parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County, knocking down hundreds of trees within minutes.
inquirer.com
Every tent at FDR Park's long-running Southeast Asian Market was damaged in Saturday's microburst storm. www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
The Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park sustained heavy damage from Saturday’s storm
A sudden, violent storm on Saturday afternoon sent vendors running for cover and damaged tents and merchandise at the long-running outdoor market in South Philadelphia.
inquirer.com
The latest cases show measles is circulating, especially in western Chester County, health officials say.
Two more measles cases confirmed in Chester County
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Lancaster County has emerged as a particular hot spot, with 51 of the 89 total measles cases reported this year in the state.
Inside Pa.’s measles outbreak: a family rides out the virus, doctors treat severely ill children
inquirer.com
Two measles cases have been confirmed in Chester County, the first in the Philly region this summer. Overall, there have been 88 cases confirmed in PA this year, more than five times the cases reported in 2025. www.inquirer.com/health/chest...
Two measles cases reported in Chester County, widening spread in Southeastern Pennsylvania
The cases identified in Chester County this week are the first confirmed in the Philadelphia region since the winter.
inquirer.com
Trump had signed an order to end birthright citizenship for children born in the US to undocumented immigrants.
Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship in momentous immigration ruling
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Philadelphia hasn’t had three straight 100-degree days in 33 years.
Philly is under an ‘extreme heat’ warning as temperatures could hit 100 on three consecutive days
inquirer.com
Some updates on Pennsylvania's measles outbreak, which has hospitalized several people and sickened 72 since April. www.inquirer.com/health/measl...
Pennsylvania health officials address measles outbreak: ‘We will not slow down until this ... is over.’
Vaccination is the best defense against the highly contagious disease, health officials stressed at a Friday news conference in Lancaster.
inquirer.com
As Pennsylvania's measles outbreak spreads to six counties, state health officials are urging early vaccination for infants who live in or travel to affected areas: www.inquirer.com/health/measl...
Measles detected in two more counties in Pennsylvania as health department recommends early vaccination
The state health department is now recommending early measles vaccinations for infants in affected areas in an effort to protect them against the spread of the highly contagious disease.
inquirer.com
“By this Friday, 53 measles cases had been detected in four counties in Southeastern and Central Pennsylvania, the state’s biggest outbreak in more than 30 years… Lancaster, which has some of the lowest kindergarten vaccination rates in the state, has been a hot spot all year”
In Lancaster, measles cases are rising as providers try to combat low vaccination rates
Local doctors say they’re worried that even more cases are spreading under the radar in under-vaccinated pockets of Lancaster County, where 31 cases have been detected.
inquirer.com
Local doctors say they’re worried that even more cases are spreading under the radar in under-vaccinated pockets of Lancaster County, where 31 cases have been detected.
In Lancaster, measles cases are rising as providers try to combat low vaccination rates
inquirer.com
Thousands of visitors, declining measles vaccine rates, and a growing number of cases poses an outbreak risk, experts say.
How Philadelphia is preparing for measles and other disease outbreaks during FIFA World Cup events
inquirer.com
“In Lancaster, measles cases are rising as providers try to combat low vaccination rates: Local doctors say they’re worried that even more cases are spreading under the radar in under-vaccinated pockets of Lancaster County, where 31 cases have been detected.”
In Lancaster, measles cases are rising as providers try to combat low vaccination rates
Local doctors say they’re worried that even more cases are spreading under the radar in under-vaccinated pockets of Lancaster County, where 31 cases have been detected.
inquirer.com
From @aubreywhelan.bsky.social and Sarah Gantz: How Philadelphia is preparing for measles and other disease outbreaks during FIFA World Cup events www.inquirer.com/health/measl... via @inquirer.com
How Philadelphia is preparing for measles and other disease outbreaks during FIFA World Cup events
Thousands of visitors, declining measles vaccine rates, and a growing number of cases poses an outbreak risk, experts say.
inquirer.com
10 more cases of measles have been confirmed in an ongoing outbreak in Central and Southeastern PA. The state is now up to 50 cases for the year; in all of 2025, there were 16. www.inquirer.com/health/measl...
Ten more measles cases are reported in ongoing central Pa. outbreak
So far in 2026, Pennsylvania has seen 50 cases of measles - 38 linked to an ongoing outbreak in Lancaster and three nearby counties. The state saw 16 cases of measles in all of last year.
inquirer.com
As measles vaccination rates drop, Pennsylvania lawmakers say the public should have better access to school-level vaccination data. But they see little political will to change PA's vaccination exemption rules, some of the most permissive in the country. www.inquirer.com/health/schoo...
As measles rises, Pa. parents should be able to see school-level vaccine data, some lawmakers say
The comments come in the wake of investigations by both The Inquirer and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that drew attention to how vulnerable children now are to measles.
inquirer.com
Overdose deaths in Philadelphia are falling, especially among Black residents. But deaths involving only stimulants, like cocaine or methamphetamine, are rising: www.inquirer.com/health/overd...
Overdose deaths in Philadelphia are decreasing — especially in the Black community. But deaths involving stimulants are rising.
“Overdoses are not going down for everyone,” said Daniel Teixeira da Silva, director of the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction at the city health department.
inquirer.com
From colleague @aubreywhelan.bsky.social, who might admit to you she's a soccer fan if you ask her nicely: These are Philly health officials’ top priorities as they prepare for the city’s major summer events, with the World Cup at the top of the list www.inquirer.com/health/world...
These are Philly health officials’ top priorities as they prepare for the city’s major summer events
Health commissioner Palak Raval-Nelson and her counterparts in four other World Cup host cities discussed the health threats they’re focused on during the summer’s festivities.
inquirer.com
In 2023, Philly earmarked opioid settlement money for revitalization projects in Kensington. The state opioid trust said it wasn't a good use of the money. Here's the latest in a years-long fight over the city's spending priorities: www.inquirer.com/health/opioi...
Philadelphia asks Pa. judges to approve opioid settlement spending on Kensington revitalization projects
At times on Tuesday, the panel of judges questioned the trust’s decision-making process, which has been criticized for a lack of transparency.
inquirer.com
Today is the 41st anniversary of the MOVE bombing, one of the most painful events in Philadelphia history. Last year, I wrote about the long fight to lay some of the youngest victims to rest. www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
The long, tragic journey of the MOVE bombing’s youngest victims
Depositions in legal cases shed new light on the way Philly and Penn treated bones pulled from the rubble 40 years ago.
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Two New Jersey residents may have been exposed to a person infected with hantavirus who had gotten off the MV Hondius, state health officials said Friday. Neither of them has hantavirus symptoms and the risk to the general public was low, officials said.
New Jersey says two residents were 'potentially exposed' to hantavirus on an airplane
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Pennsylvania's laws make it easy for parents to opt-out of vaccines. We took a look at 1,800 schools to find communities most at risk.
One in three Philly-area kindergartens pose measles risk hiding in plain sight, Inquirer analysis finds
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In Pa., 50 of the state's 67 counties have measles vaccine rates among Kindergarteners that make them vulnerable to an outbreak. Just four years ago, it was 15. Reporting from @aubreywhelan.bsky.social @sarahgantz.bsky.social and Lizzie Mulvey. www.inquirer.com/health/inq2/...
One in three Philly-area kindergartens pose measles risk hiding in plain sight, Inquirer analysis finds
Pennsylvania's laws make it easy for parents to opt-out of vaccines. We took a look at 1,800 schools to find communities most at risk.
inquirer.com
