This is another in a series of conversations between Dr. Jarone Lee, a frontline critical care and emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Paul Hattis, a senior fellow at the Lown Institute, a former commissioner of the Health Policy Commission, and co-host of CommonWealth’s Health or Consequences Codcast. […]
COVID-19
Posted inOpinion
Vaccines are a community responsibility
IT HAS BEEN over a month since our two unions announced support for vaccine mandates for 30,000 members across Massachusetts. Since then, we have seen a host of other employers come forward and join us – but not enough. We need more labor unions and employers to join us in being on the right side […]
Posted inEducation
Delays hinder state’s pooled testing program for schools
WHEN THE AMHERST-PELHAM regional school district instituted a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the school committee gave staff an alternative: they could get tested regularly instead. But the district was counting on using the state’s pooled testing program – which so far, has not materialized in Amherst. Amherst-Pelham Superintendent Michael Morris said he developed a partnership with the University of […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker not worried about staff shortages due to vaccine mandate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH LESS THAN A MONTH until his vaccination mandate for state employees takes effect, Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday he was not worried about creating staffing shortages at the State Police or other agencies where employees may decide not to follow the governor’s directive. “I think we’re going to get people […]
Posted inOpinion
Listen to what food insecure people say they need
NEARLY 20 PERCENT of Massachusetts households struggle to access food — a number that has more than doubled during the pandemic. It’s a serious and growing issue, and there’s no shortage of proposed solutions. But to address this problem, we must first properly diagnose it, and there’s one group of people who know better than […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker investigating vaccine passes
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IT WILL BE IMPORTANT for people to have a simple way to prove that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday as he stopped just short of saying that some kind of vaccination verification system will be coming to Massachusetts. With about two-thirds of the workforce soon to […]
Posted inEducation
Classes in Melrose already quarantined
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MELROSE HAS already quarantined at least two classrooms for a COVID-19 outbreak, but Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday a return to remote learning as an option for school districts is not under consideration. “Schools have a certain number of days baked into their calendar that they are allowed to miss and […]
Posted inHealth Care
At-home COVID tests surging in popularity
THE LAST COUPLE of weeks, customers at Skenderian Apothecary in Cambridge have been asking for at-home COVID tests. But owner Joseph Skenderian hasn’t been able to stock them. “I can’t get a steady line,” Skenderian said. “When I go to order, I might get a couple, then they’re unavailable. They go very quickly.” As COVID-19 rates are rising again amid a […]
Posted inUncategorized
State House vaccine mandates raise questions for lawmakers
AS THE MASSACHUSETTS House and Senate – like so many private companies – ponder a return to the office, the Democratic leaders of both bodies say they plan to impose a vaccine mandate on members and staff. Some Republican lawmakers, however, are raising concerns about how exactly a mandate would work. The questions are particularly thorny for lawmakers themselves, should […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker expands vaccine mandates
LESS THAN A MONTH after Gov. Charlie Baker announced a COVID vaccine mandate for all nursing home workers, the administration expanded the order to include home health aides and other long-term care employees. The Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that all staff at rest homes, assisted living residences, and hospice programs, as […]