MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH CARE providers prepared to start vaccinating children against COVID-19 on Thursday, now that the federal government has signed off on the safety and efficacy of Pfizer’s vaccine. “Pediatric doses are here and more will be coming,” Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday at a press conference at Boston Children’s Hospital. “We don’t anticipate any […]
COVID-19
Posted inUncategorized
Seven reps not complying with House vaccine mandate
THERE ARE SEVEN state representatives who have not yet provided proof of vaccination or requested a religious or medical exemption from the vaccine mandate imposed by the House of the Representatives. Ana Vivas, a spokesperson for the House, said in a statement that members who are not in compliance “are required to continue working remotely, including […]
Posted inEducation
State: School testing delays are being resolved
MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH and education officials acknowledged on Thursday that “logistical challenges” led to a delayed rollout of the state’s COVID-19 testing program in schools, but they said the problems, which were primarily attributable to low staffing, are being addressed. “As is often the case when developing a bold new idea – in this case, test […]
Posted inHealth Care
Massachusetts preps for Nov. vaccine rollout to kids
MASSACHUSETTS EXPECTS to receive 360,000 doses of the pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine by November 5, Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said Thursday. Unlike the initial vaccine rollout to adults, when vaccines were scarce, Sudders said the initial allocation will be enough to vaccinate 70 percent of the approximately 515,000 children ages five […]
Posted inEconomy
Add paper to the list of things in short supply
BEFORE BOSTON’S preliminary mayoral election, the city sent information about mail-in voting to every voter. For a time, the city considered doing a second mailing, but Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin, whose office coordinated the mailings, said a second mailing simply wasn’t possible. “When we went shopping for cardstock, they didn’t have enough,” Galvin […]
Posted inUncategorized
1,571 state workers not complying with vaccine mandate
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S vaccine mandate for executive branch employees went into effect Sunday, and more than 1,500 state workers remain out of compliance. But state government did not experience mass terminations on Monday. Instead, it was a day of confusion for some, as employees were told to report to work, while the administration still had not ruled on some employees’ applications for exemptions. […]
Posted inOpinion
As a society, we are simply exhausted
AS A HOSPITAL CEO, I can see the far-reaching effects of the pandemic on the emotional well-being of a community. I see it in the children and adults who visit our emergency department at a time of personal crisis, when they feel they can no longer cope. I see it in our local civic and […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker calls up Guard to help at prisons, schools
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Tuesday called up 450 members of the National Guard to fill in for state correctional workers who have refused to get vaccinated and to support a COVID-19 testing program at schools that has had difficulty meeting demand. The governor said 250 Guard members as well as retired correction officers will be […]
Posted inHealth Care
Study says 140,000 children lost a caregiver to COVID
A STUDY PUBLISHED by the American Academy of Pediatrics in the journal Pediatrics on Thursday quantifies yet another tragic outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic: orphanhood. The study used modeling to estimate that, from April 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, more than 120,000 children in the US under age 18 lost their parent or custodial […]
Posted inEconomy
Report urges action on addressing inequities post-COVID
DESPITE A NATIONWIDE reckoning on race, Massachusetts society post-COVID could see even worsening inequities in society based on class and race, if policymakers do not make a conscious effort to intervene, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Senate committee on “Reimagining Massachusetts Post-Pandemic Resiliency.” Faced with the broad task of analyzing societal […]