WITH MASSACHUSETTS EXPECTING an influx of nearly $8 billion in federal stimulus money, many of the federal government’s guidelines for how the money can be used won’t be released until […]
Health
Posted inUncategorized
Lynch warns of reliance on China for PPE
US REP. STEPHEN LYNCH Â issued a call on Tuesday for all recipients of federal aid under the American Rescue Plan Act to boycott Chinese personal protection equipment and buy American. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Hynes vaccination site to administer 7,000 shots a day
AN EIGHT-WEEK federal-state pilot vaccine program at the Hynes Convention Center will begin administering 7,000 shots a day starting Wednesday and then next week begin diverting roughly 2,000 doses a […]
Posted inHealth Care
Dr. Michael Mina’s rapid test theory
THE US COULD have prevented the surge of COVID-19 cases this winter that killed hundreds of thousands of people if only the FDA had approved methods for at-home rapid testing […]
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Virus notes: Baker shows interest in vaccine pass
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER indicated on Thursday that he is interested in so-called vaccine passes that could be used for travel or to gain access to public venues, but he said […]
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Baker not interested in vaccine mandates – for now
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER isn’t interested in requiring public-facing employees to get vaccinated, at least right now. And he’s got a problem with public officials who use their position to cut […]
Posted inUncategorized
Uncertainty abounds in vaccine eligibility numbers
WHEN THE MASSACHUSETTS COVID-19 Command Center calculates how many people are eligible for vaccinations in each of the state’s three phases, there’s a problem: The total number is 1 million […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lawmakers press Baker on scrapping local vaccination playbook
FOR 20 YEARS, Massachusetts public health officials prepared for an emergency scenario that would require local boards of health to set up vaccination clinics across the state. But when COVID-19 […]
Posted inEducation
Hesitancy over childhood vaccines could prolong education inequitiesÂ
A NEW POLL of K-12 parents in Massachusetts foreshadows potentially huge gaps in childhood vaccination rates once an FDA approved vaccine is available for children. These gaps are reminiscent of […]
Posted inHealth Care
All Mass. adults eligible for vaccines April 19
ALL ADULTS LIVING in Massachusetts will become eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine beginning on April 19, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday. That does not mean, however, that everyone will […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker rips teachers’ unions over vaccine stance
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION and the state’s teachers’ unions are engaging in an increasingly bitter fight over plans for vaccinating educators, with Gov. Charlie Baker accusing the unions of wanting to strip vaccines from the state’s most vulnerable residents in […]
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Baker: We could do 2m doses a month but getting only half that
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Wednesday that the state has the capacity to administer 2 million inoculations a month, but the federal government and  d vaccine manufacturers are providing only […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
New vaccine pre-registration system coming
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TWELVE WEEKS into the state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday that a new vaccine appointment pre-registration system his administration is launching Friday will […]
Posted inHealth Care
Bob Cousy scores vaccine — with possible assist from FauciÂ
THEY ARE POPPING UP all over the country — stories of volunteer brigades or just concerned individuals operating on their own who work to get COVID vaccine appointments for elderly […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health insurers to promote 2017 birth control provision
A TRADE ASSOCIATION representing a swath of the state’s commercial health insurers is launching a public awareness campaign to let members, pharmacists, and providers know that a 2017 law permits […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker continues to cite constraints in vaccine supplyÂ
ARE YOU A Massachusetts resident frustrated to be still waiting for your COVID shot? Gov. Charlie Baker has a message: blame the feds. “I think it’s unfair that I can’t […]
Posted inOpinion
Breaking down hospital community benefits
2020 was a year like no other. COVID-19 laid bare many inequities in our Commonwealth and nation. Black and Latinx residents, many of whom are low-wage essential workers, immigrants, and […]
Posted inHealth Care
Teachers become eligible for COVID vaccines March 11Â
AFTER WEEKS OF pressure from Massachusetts teachers — and one day after President Biden urged giving educators priority for vaccines — Gov. Charlie Baker said teachers, school staff, and early educators will be […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. will start getting limited Johnson & Johnson vaccine
MASSACHUSETTS WILL BEGIN getting a small supply of one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines next week, but is unlikely to get a significant shipment of the shots until the end […]
Posted inHealth Care
2017 birth control provision fell through the cracks
IN 2017, amid growing concern that Congress and the Trump administration were moving to limit free access to contraceptives, the Massachusetts Legislature passed and Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a bill guaranteeing access […]
Posted inHealth Care
Contact tracing collaborative laying off 170
THE MASSACHUSETTS contact tracing collaborative is laying off 10 percent of its workforce this weekend as COVID-19 case counts continue a steady decline that prompted Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday […]
Posted inHealth Care
Sudders: Mass vaccination sites short-term solution
HEALTH AND HUMAN Services Secretary Marylou Sudders pushed back against the view that the state is going all-in on mass vaccination sites on Thursday during testimony before the Legislature’s Committee […]
Posted inHealth Care
Hospitals to resume vaccinations Monday
HOSPITAL SYSTEMS are alerting their patients that they will resume COVID-19 vaccinations on Monday, less than three weeks after they were cut off by the Baker administration. Massachusetts General Brigham […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Could in-person sports viewing be coming?
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FANS WILL GET to watch the Boston Bruins play in person for the first time since pre-pandemic days on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, but it’s unlikely […]