STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf was in State College on Wednesday, one day after announcing the state's COVID-19 restrictions will soon be lifted.
The governor stopped in Happy Valley to talk about the importance of college kids receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Gov. Wolf was joined by Penn State head football coach James Franklin, Penn State President Eric Barron, and student-athlete Theo Johnson at Pegula Ice Hockey Arena to address the media about vaccines.
"Right now, I know this is something that might not be top of mind. Finals coming up, moving back home, finding summer jobs. But now that college students are eligible to get vaccinated, it is really important to make this a priority," Gov. Wolf said.
"Penn Staters can and must demonstrate the leadership to do your part and get vaccinated," said Penn State President Eric Barron.
Earlier this week, the state announced the lifting of restrictions on Memorial Day. Wolf said that the vaccine rollout was a huge factor in that decision.
"The progress we are making on the vaccines, I think all of us are becoming more confident that we have a really good path to the kind of safety that we didn't have 16 months ago."
With Gov. wolf Lifting restrictions on Memorial Day and as we see more people get vaccinated, there is a chance that Beaver Stadium might see 107,000 fans this fall.
"In order to be able to have 107,000 of our closest friends cheering us on this season, we ask everyone that is able to get vaccinated," said student-athlete Theo Johnson.
"We want our Ball State game on September 11 to our first family reunion in almost two years, and we want all of Beaver Stadium and all of Happy Valley rocking," said head coach James Franklin.
During the news conference, Gov. Wolf told the media that he has not spoken to any college officials about or even considered requiring college students to have the vaccine to return to campus for the fall semester.