GOV. CHARLIE BAKER suggested for the first time Monday that he may lift the COVID-19 state of emergency at the same time as he allows businesses to fully reopen, which is now scheduled for August 1. Baker […]
Health
Posted inEconomy
Ed Glaeser considers the post-pandemic challenges facing cities
HARVARD ECONOMICS PROFESSOR Ed Glaeser is one of the leading authorities on the role of cities in modern life — and throughout human history. His 2011 book The Triumph of […]
Posted inOpinion
Why Fallon is focusing on MassHealth, Medicare
LAST MONTH, Fallon Health announced that it would exit most of the commercial health insurance market and focus predominantly on public plans like MassHealth (Massachusetts’ version of Medicaid) and Medicare. […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Healey expands call for mandatory vaccinations
ATTORNEY GENERAL Maura Healey, who has said COVID-19 vaccinations should be required for public employees, indicated on Wednesday that she believes inoculations should be mandatory for at least some private […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Mass vax sites to offer walk-up appointments
IN A SIGN of the vastly increased availability of COVID-19 vaccines, six mass vaccination sites in Massachusetts will begin offering walk-up vaccination appointments. Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday that the Hynes Convention […]
Posted inHealth Care
Are liberals ‘addicted’ to the pandemic?
IN THE FACE of a deadly pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 people in the US and more than 3 million worldwide, one group seems to be letting politics […]
Posted inHealth Care
State plans to wind down mass vaccination sites
WITH 70 PERCENT of Massachusetts adults having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday announced plans to wind down operations at mass vaccination sites […]
Posted inHealth Care
Is vaccine supply finally outpacing demand?
REMEMBER THE DAYS of “vaccine angels” and waiting up until midnight hitting refresh on a website, seeking a vaccine appointment? Those days appear to be over. CBS Boston reported that […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker laissez-faire on vaccine requirements
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said his administration will leave it up to businesses and organizations to decide whether they want to adopt vaccination requirements for employees or patrons, and added that […]
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts will fully reopen on August 1
MASSACHUSETTS WILL LIFT its outdoor mask mandate this Friday and will plan to be fully reopened by August 1, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday. And with summer coming, residents can finally […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker touts low rates of vaccine hesitancy in Massachusetts
AS SOME STATES are beginning to hit a “vaccine wall,” where everyone who wants a COVID-19 shot has gotten one and those left unvaccinated are uninterested, Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday that vaccine […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker: Feds should redeploy vaccines to Mass.
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Thursday that his administration is asking the federal government to adjust its vaccine shipments, lowering what’s sent to states that aren’t using all of their […]
Posted inEducation
Colleges are requiring COVID vaccines. What’s next?
Emerson College and Smith College on Wednesday became the latest Massachusetts colleges to announce that they would require all students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to campus this […]
Posted inOpinion
Bills offer a chance to stop running from history
EVERY WEEK, I receive e-mails from people from across the country with questions about the former state institutions for people with disabilities in Massachusetts. They are descendants of people who […]
Posted inHealth Care
For ACA to work best, we must tackle other barriers to health care
A FIX IS IN for the Affordable Care Act. But it’s just a start. The Biden administration’s new stimulus package includes consequential repairs to the Affordable Care Act: wider income […]
Posted inUncategorized
What you need to know about COVID-19 variants
MASSACHUSETTS HAS some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 variants of any state in the country. Some of the variants that exist today are more contagious and may cause more […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Blood clots in 6 people prompt pause of Johnson & Johnson vaccinations
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL OFFICIALS expect their recommended pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines will likely last “a matter of days,” the head of the US Food and […]
Posted inUncategorized
Half of Mass. adults have received first vaccine dose
MASSACHUSETTS HAS BECOME the first state of its size to give a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to at least half its adult population. According to CDC statistics, Massachusetts […]
Posted inOpinion
Professor’s job increasingly includes mental health component
A SURVEY OF NEARLY 1,700 college and university professors across the country indicates faculty members are on the frontlines of a worsening student mental health crisis. The survey, conducted by […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker unwilling to talk vaccine passports
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is uninterested in talking about vaccination passports. Asked whether Massachusetts might consider creating vaccine passports – which would impose restrictions on unvaccinated individuals – Baker did not […]
Posted inHealth Care
Disability community is ignored demographic in pandemic
LIKE MANY OTHER marginalized populations, the disability community often finds itself an outlier when it comes to decision-making but always at the center of who is suffering the most. Findings […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: COVID cases among people over 70 way down
THE HIGH VACCINATION rate among older people in Massachusetts is driving down the number of COVID-19 cases in that age group. According to the latest state data, there were 943 […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Mandatory vaccination debate is percolating
AS MORE AND MORE people get vaccinated, questions on what to do with people who refuse to get their shot(s) keep coming up. Should vaccinations be optional, required, or just […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker: More J&J vaccines are on the way
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said the federal government will ship 10 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to states next week, with more than 100,000 doses slated for Massachusetts. […]