The news seems particularly bleak on the COVID front, with case counts rising rapidly and hospitalizations hitting levels not seen since last winter’s surge. But amid the rising alarm over […]
COVID-19
Posted inHealth Care
News not as bleak as it appears on COVID front
THE NEWS seems particularly bleak on the COVID front, with case counts rising rapidly and hospitalizations hitting levels not seen since last winter’s surge. But amid the rising alarm over the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. offers QR code to prove COVID vaccine status
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Monday released a new technology that state residents can use voluntarily to provide digital proof of their COVID-19 vaccination status. A portal on a state-run website […]
Posted inNews Analysis
30-40% of COVID patients at MGH incidentally infected
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, […]
Posted inEducation
School struggles getting worse amid virus surge
AMID THE SURGE of COVID-19 cases, Cambridge Public Schools closed Monday and Tuesday to test 3,500 students. Superintendent Victoria Greer wrote to families Tuesday that 157 of 362 pools tested […]
Posted inBy The Numbers, Health Care, News Analysis
Poll shows sharp divide in attitudes depending on vaccination status
WITH COVID CASES surging in Massachusetts and tests hard to come by, deciding what feels safe to do can be a moving target. But for one group at least, the […]
Posted inEducation
Schools face staffing shortages as teachers ill with COVID
ON SATURDAY, Brockton school superintendent Michael Thomas warned parents that although schools were planning to reopen Monday, he could not guarantee it. “Unfortunately, like most districts across the state right […]
Posted inEducation
Most, but not all, schools reopen Monday
A NUMBER OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS didn’t open on Monday because of concerns about COVID, but Gov. Charlie Baker said none of them will be exempted from in-person learning requirements. “The […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
988 state employees left jobs due to vaccine mandate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE JUST FEWER than 1,000 executive branch employees have left their jobs because they did not or would not comply with Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccine mandate for […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Essex prosecutors will investigate claims of improper masking at Middleton jail
A PUBLIC DEFENDER in Essex County is asking that his client be released from the Middleton jail because correction officers are not properly masking. Andrew daMota, an attorney with the Committee […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Mass. closing in on 1m total cases of COVID-19
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ANOTHER 12,983 people in Massachusetts were newly confirmed to have COVID-19 over the Christmas holiday weekend, the Department of Public Health reported Monday. With a total […]
Posted inHealth Care
Rapid tests play crucial role in curbing COVID-19 spread
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. AS WINTER BEGINS and the holidays are in full swing, the COVID-19 pandemic has entered another worrying phase. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker, Spilka differ on response to rising COVID cases
DESPITE RISING CONCERNS about a surge in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday shied away from ordering any new restrictions on work and social interaction and urged the residents […]
Posted inHealth Care
DPH finds low rate of severe illness among vaccinated individuals
THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT of Public Health released a report Monday showing that despite recent increases in breakthrough COVID-19 cases, vaccines remain generally effective in preventing cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. While the state has been […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care
Boston institutes COVID vaccine mandate for leisure-related indoor spaces
THE CITY OF BOSTON is instituting a vaccine requirement for entry into leisure-related indoor spaces, including restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues. “This is just one step in an aggressive approach […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Back to the future: Red Sox launching booster facility
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE START of next year’s baseball season may be in jeopardy, but the turnstiles will be turning again at Fenway Park when it is expected to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker clarifies stance on vaccine QR codes
A DAY AFTER Gov. Charlie Baker revealed that states are in discussions about a scannable code that could be used as proof of COVID vaccination, the Republican governor clarified that […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker says deal coming ‘soon’ on universal vaccine proof
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said Monday that a deal could be reached “soon” with a number of other states to create a scannable code that could be used to prove someone has been vaccinated. “We’ve been working […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
High court sides with DOC on prison COVID rules
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT ruled Thursday that the Department of Correction has not been “deliberately indifferent” to inmates’ health during the COVID pandemic, because it took precautions and, most significantly, […]
Posted inEconomy
Unemployment insurance deficit may have vanished
This story has been updated with a Baker administration response. THE DEFICIT in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund, expected by some to run into billions of dollars eventually, has apparently […]
Posted inUncategorized
2 more House lawmakers provide proof of vaccination
TWO MORE STATE representatives provided proof over the weekend that they have received COVID-19 shots, leaving the House with only five of its 160 members out of compliance with the […]
Posted inThe Download
The kids are not okay
The memes going around the internet in the early days of the pandemic, as schools and daycares shut down, made it clear: the parents are not okay. A year and […]
Posted inEducation
The kids are not okay
THE MEMES going around the internet in the early days of the pandemic, as schools and daycares shut down, made it clear: the parents are not okay. A year and […]
Posted inHealth Care
Pediatric COVID vaccines now available in Massachusetts
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 […]