By Katie Lannan, State House News Service
December 30, 2020
Katie Lannan, State House News Service
Retired teacher Shirley Nolan raised her arms aloft after receiving her first Covid-19 vaccine shot, exclaiming, “Hallelujah.” Nolan was the first resident of Boston’s Edgar P. Benjamin Healthcare Center to get the shot, a moment publicized by state health officials as efforts began Monday to vaccinate long-term care residents in Massachusetts.
The coronavirus has exacted a tragic toll on long-term care centers both in the state and nationally and the risks faced by their residents and workforce have placed the facilities near the front vaccine rollout line.