RATES OF COVID-19 vaccination in this country are too low. Less than half of those over 65 have received a second booster and, among children under 5, the rate of vaccination with any dose is in the single digits. Uptake of the new bivalent booster is worryingly slow, with just 31 million Americans (10.1 percent […]
COVID-19
Posted inHealth, Opinion
An epidemiologist’s advice for living with COVID
IT SEEMS LIKE a pretty simple question: Have we reached the point where COVID-19 has become less lethal than the flu? But if you ask a group of public health/infectious disease experts, it’s almost certain some will say yes and some will say no. In all likelihood, they’re both right, because the question is not […]
Posted inHealth
State drops quarantine for close COVID contacts in schools, childcare
IN A SIGN of the continually evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Public Health on Wednesday quietly updated its guidelines for educational settings to no longer require children to quarantine if they are asymptomatic but exposed to COVID, even if they are unvaccinated. The change in guidance will affect schools, camps, and […]
Posted inUncategorized
Cocktails-to-go, outdoor dining will continue another year
RESTAURANTS WILL be allowed to sell cocktails-to-go for another year, under a bill Gov. Charlie Baker signed Friday. The Legislature and Baker agreed to extend the popular pandemic-era policy to April 1, 2023. It had been scheduled to expire May 1, 2022. Bob Luz, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said drinks to […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. employers shouldn’t get stuck with the UI bill
IN THE CONFUSION surrounding the initial weeks and months of the pandemic, when businesses were ordered to close their doors and workers were losing their jobs by the thousands, the state attempted to provide unemployment insurance benefits to claimants as quickly as possible. As the state of Massachusetts desperately rushed to get checks in the […]
Posted inOpinion
COVID therapies important step on pathway out of pandemic
MASSACHUSETTS IS THANKFULLY seeing sustained decreases in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was limited testing capability, no specific therapies, and no vaccines. Today, we have a plethora of tools at our disposal to manage COVID-19 and, because of this, students are learning in person and businesses […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
State House dropping mask, vaccine requirements
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE COVID-19 pandemic’s two-year anniversary approaching, legislative leaders lifted the mask mandate and proof-of-vaccination-or-negative-test requirement for entry into the State House, starting on Monday. House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka cited a “steady decline in COVID-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations” in making their announcement. “While some individuals […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Masks no longer mandated on school buses
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A DAY AFTER K-12 students returned to classrooms with a statewide mask mandate no longer in place, the Baker administration announced that children no longer need to mask up while riding in school buses or vans. The state Department of Public Health published an updated advisory on Tuesday that does not […]
Posted inThe Download
Local-option COVID approach slammed
Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, says the Baker administration’s policy of leaving many of the major COVID decisions to local boards of health helps explain why local officials are facing harassment and many are leaving public service. The Baker administration has adopted a local-option approach in many cases. For example, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Local-option COVID approach slammed
CARLENE PAVLOS, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, says the Baker administration’s policy of leaving many of the major COVID decisions to local boards of health helps explain why local officials are facing harassment and many are leaving public service. The Baker administration has adopted a local-option approach in many cases. For example, […]