IN ALL THE finger-pointing over the state’s shaky COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the criticism may have been aimed at Charlie Baker, but in Revere, the phone calls went to Brian Arrigo. […]
Health
Posted inEducation
Teachers should get vaccine priority among essential workers
THIS CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR has been challenging for all involved. As educators, we have had to adjust and rapidly shift from managing classrooms to ensuring that our families are secure and […]
Posted inUncategorized
Biddinger analyzes vaccine rollout challenges
DR. PAUL BIDDINGER, who specializes in emergency preparedness at Massachusetts General Hospital and heads the governor’s COVID-19 vaccination advisory board, says a third of those eligible to be inoculated in […]
Posted inOpinion
We’re relying on the wrong pharmacies for vaccinations
ACCORDING TO THE US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Massachusetts has administered about 50 percent of the vaccine distributed. This is about average when compared to other states, but […]
Posted inUncategorized
State’s COVID-19 numbers trending down
THE NUMBER of communities at high-risk for COVID-19 dropped 13.5 percent on Thursday and the state as a whole saw its numbers take a dive, according to the state’s weekly […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker setting up vaccine call center
AMID GROWING frustration with the state’s process for arranging COVID-19 vaccination appointments, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday that his administration intends to set up a call center next week for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Teachers complain about bump down in vaccination line
TEACHERS UNIONS ARE criticizing changes Gov. Charlie Baker made to the vaccine schedule that elevate those over 65 but push educators and others lower on the priority list, a shift […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker defends vaccine rollout; those 65-plus moved up
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Monday continued to defend the state’s slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout even as he announced plans to expand the number of inoculation sites and moved residents 65 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Number of high-risk communities finally drops
THE STATE’S WEEKLY COVID-19 reports showed improvement on Thursday, with the number of high-risk communities dropping for the first time in months and vaccine shipments to the state increasing slightly […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker sees some promising COVID signs
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER, citing positive trends in COVID-19 data, said that starting Monday he plans to lift a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. stay-at-home advisory and a curfew that left […]
Posted inHealth Care
Biden looks to overhaul pandemic response
BENEATH THE USUAL pomp and circumstance of inauguration day was one underlying feeling — urgency. Urgency to address deep divisions involving race and inequity, urgency to roll back some of […]
Posted inEducation
Teachers want to move ahead in vaccine line
K-12 EDUCATORS are pushing to move ahead in the line for COVID-19 vaccinations, saying they deserve to get their shots sooner because of their jobs dealing directly with students. Teachers […]
Posted inHealth Care
Vaccine shipments slow; high-risk communities rise
THE NUMBER of communities considered high-risk for COVID-19 continued to creep up on Thursday, even as the shipment of vaccines to Massachusetts appeared to be slowing. In the state’s weekly […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker takes heat on vaccine rollout
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER gave an impassioned response on Wednesday to reporters’ questions about who should be prioritized to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. With the vaccine rollout moving ahead slowly and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Prisoners to start getting vaccinated next week
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said the state’s 13,200 prisoners will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccinations on Monday along with about 80,000 residents and staff at homeless shelters, substance use treatment programs, and […]
Posted inOpinion
The shameful COVID-19 death of Joseph Messere
ON THE LAST DAY of 2020, COVID-19 claimed the lives of 81 Massachusetts residents. Joseph Messere was one of those 81. Like the death of all of the others, Joe’s […]
Posted inEducation, Health Care
A shopping bag held the key to safe school opening
A LITTLE BEFORE 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Liz Ruark started out from the small Worcester County town of Harvard on the 30-mile drive to Kendall Square in Cambridge. Nestled on […]
Posted inUncategorized
62% of cities and towns now high risk
THE NUMBER of communities considered high risk for COVID-19 resumed its upward climb on Thursday, as 29 municipalities were added to the list, bringing the total to 219, or 62 […]
Posted inOpinion
Nursing homes face uncertain future
COVID-19 has cast a pall over the nursing home industry. Older adults and their families never looked forward to moving into a skilled nursing facility, resulting in loss of choice, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Four prisoners die of COVID-19 during holiday week
FOUR PRISONERS at Massachusetts penal institutions succumbed to COVID-19 during the past week, bringing the total number of deaths under the jurisdiction of the Department of Correction to 15 for […]
Posted inHealth Care
Sudders ‘comfortable’ with vaccine reporting lag
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION says it has shipped 287,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to providers in Massachusetts but only 116,071 doses have been administered to patients so far. Gov. Charlie Baker […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker says Biden won ‘fair and square’
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER took aim at President Trump and members of his own party on Monday for continuing to challenge the results of the presidential election. “President-elect Joe Biden won […]
Posted inOpinion
Developing a holistic approach to homelessness
AS WINTER MARKS the return of frigid temperatures and with COVID-19 cases on the rise, the challenges ahead for people experiencing homelessness are truly alarming. Overcrowded shelters and growing encampments […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mass. remains on a COVID-19 plateau
FOR THE THIRD week in a row, the state’s COVID-19 report indicated Massachusetts is perched on a coronavirus plateau, with the number of communities considered high risk for the virus […]