Wicked Local
On Feb. 10, almost 200 residents visited the East Somerville Community School for their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The clinic was open to residents 75 and older, and any residents in phase 1 who had not yet been vaccinated.
Though it was the city s first public COVID-19 vaccine clinic, things were running smoothly. Somerville had previously received doses to vaccinate the city s on-staff first responders.
Eligible residents had to schedule an appointment. The Glen Street school entrance was set up as a socially distanced waiting room, but as appointment times arrived, staff would guide residents into the gym to get checked in and vaccinated. After receiving the vaccination, residents were monitored for 15 or 30 minutes (depending on their history of allergies) before checking out and scheduling their appointment for the second dose.
The Somerville City Council has questions about the police hiring process.
At a January meeting, councilors on the Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters committee discussed the process behind why these nine candidates are being recommended for the police reserve list to fill vacancies at the Somerville Police Department.
Though these appointments were sent to the council in March 2020, the pandemic and ongoing conversations about police reform have delayed their discussion until now.
Questioning the hiring process
On Dec. 4, 2019, Somerville reported 10 Police Department vacancies, and the state provided the first 55 names on the Civil Service list. Candidates had a week to sign or withdraw, and the city received 34 signatures. Per the civil service process, the city must review two times the number of reported vacancies plus one, or 2N + 1, so the city could begin interviewing the first 21 people to sign the list.
Wicked Local
It will be a while before the general public starts being vaccinated, but Cambridge Health Alliance expects to begin vaccinating some staff before the end of the year.
Though they are still waiting on a firm count, CHA Senior Director of Corporate Communications David Cecere said CHA expects to receive some doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine this week. Per the state s directive, he said the initial delivery will target frontline healthcare workers.
Please support local journalism by subscribing at explore.mypapertoday.com/wickedlocalpremium. Subscribe to our newsletter here. We are following state and federal guidance to prepare a list of employees who will first receive the vaccine, focusing on staff and providers whose roles put them at the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19, he said. Pending approval from all relevant federal agencies, including the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, CHA plans to begin vaccinating some staff before the close