MIXED MESSAGES are not usually held up as a quality of good leadership, but a lot of things have been different about life amid a global pandemic. That included Gov. Charlie Baker’s State House briefing on Tuesday where he offered a very calculated mix of hope and dire warning with Christmas approaching. Baker implored Massachusetts […]
Health Care
Posted inOpinion
COVID-19 fallout: Alarming trend of severe liver disease
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 retired associate professor at the Tufts University Medical School who participates in CommonWealth’s Health or Consequences Codcast. Find links for past conversations […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Prisoners get high priority for vaccine
ADVOCATES FOR THE 13,000 people incarcerated at state and county jails praised the Baker administration on Wednesday for deciding to give prisoners and prison officials early access to the COVID-19 vaccine, but said they would continue to press state officials to release inmates early. “It is commendable that the governor recognizes that prisoners should be […]
Posted inHealth Care
Vaccine to roll out in 3 phases; no cost for shots
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION laid out its COVID-19 vaccination plan in detail on Wednesday, with the first shipment of 60,000 doses to be delivered to 21 hospitals across the state as soon as the US Food and Drug Administration issues approval for the Pfizer vaccine. Another 240,000 first-dose vaccinations will be received by the end of […]
Posted inHealth Care
Will people get a second COVID-19 vaccine?
A NEW POLL shows most Massachusetts residents are comfortable with eventually getting a COVID-19 vaccine. The results are good news, as health experts keep pointing out that even a vaccine with 95 percent effectiveness is only as good as its take-up rate by the population. But it might be good to hold off on taking […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t forget home care workers
AS WE WAIT for a final plan on who should be the first to receive limited supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, there is general consensus that health care personnel who are likely exposed to or treat COVID-19 infected people should be at the front of the line. This group includes frontline workers at hospitals, long-term care […]
Posted inHealth Care
Rollback of reopening is imperative amid new surge
MASSACHUSETTS FINDS ITSELF in the eye of a storm. As municipal leaders, we have grown increasingly concerned as we see COVID-19 cases spiking across the state. In some communities we are already seeing the rising prevalence of this virus cause week-long turnaround times for COVID tests as contact tracers are unable to keep up with the sheer volume […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker announces expanded testing, limits on elective surgery
AS THE SURGE of COVID-19 cases continues statewide, Gov. Charlie Baker announced new measures to expand testing and keep hospital beds open. Baker was visibly angry as he discussed the need to increase testing and stem the virus’s spread, saying that the state’s positive test rate “took off like a rocket,” because some people ignored public health recommendations […]
Posted inHealth Care
Hunt recounts Mass. origins of community health centers
JIM HUNT says community health centers got their start in Massachusetts because of the old axiom that all politics is local. Hunt, the president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, said two Tufts University medical school physicians, Jack Geiger and Count Gibson Jr., had studied how South Africa launched community clinics […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t place too many restrictions on telehealth
FOR DECADES, Massachusetts has been known for having the best health care in the world. As doctors who’ve practiced medicine for a combined 40 years in the Commonwealth, we have seen firsthand how our state has enjoyed the best hospitals and best doctors and providers to deliver the highest standard of care. Our biggest challenge? […]