EXTENDED P-EBT: Massachusetts has received federal approval to continue providing Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer, or P-EBT, benefits to families this summer, a decision the Department of Transitional Assistance estimates will
Need to get vaccinated at home? No problem.
The stateâs home vaccination program, which had strict eligibility requirements, has been expanded to all state residents unable to get to a vaccine site.
The program employs primarily Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccines to reach people who are homebound or otherwise would need significant support to reach a clinic or pharmacy.
People ages 12 to 17 are also eligible for the program and would receive two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, the only vaccine that has been approved for that age group.
Previously, the program had been restricted to people who met specific federal criteria. The expanded eligibility comes as the state looks for more vaccine recipients, with increased supply and dwindling demand.
HEARING ON RUINED DOSES: U.S. House lawmakers Wednesday grilled executives of a Maryland biotechnology company that received a $628 million federal contract to manufacture vaccines but ruined nearly 15 million potential doses.
To date, Emergent BioSolutions has not produced a single vaccine dose at its Baltimore manufacturing plant that U.S. regulators have cleared for use, although it has received $271 million of its contract.
The 15 million potential doses that the company threw out after they were contaminated were of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. There are more than 100 million doses on hold as regulators check them for contamination, CEO Robert Kramer said at a Wednesday hearing held by a House subcommittee.
Walk-in and scheduled vaccinations will soon be available at the 505 East St. testing site in Pittsfield.
Starting Tuesday, vaccinations will be offered from 8:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. seven days a week, and appointments can be scheduled at maimmunizations.org, Berkshire Health Systems said in a news release. The North Adams and Great Barrington testing centers will not yet offer walk-in vaccinations, but BHS will work with the Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative to expand vaccine access in the near future, the release said.
More information on vaccinations can be found by calling the BHS COVID-19 hotline at 855-262-5465 or by visiting getvaccinatedberkshires.org.
Almost 60 percent of Berkshire County residents have had at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the latest state data, as eligibility expands to include children as young as 12.
Nearly 90 percent of people aged 70 and older have gotten at least one shot, along with 82 percent of 60- to 69-year-olds and 71 percent of 50- to 59-year-olds. The rate drops to 56 percent for people ages 20 to 50, the age group that became eligible less than a month ago.
The stateâs data reflects vaccinations reported as of Tuesday.
Vaccination rates for Black and Hispanic residents continue to lag behind white residents, according to the data. Fifty-seven percent of white residents in the county have been vaccinated, compared to 37 percent of Black residents and 44 percent of Hispanic residents. The county remains behind the state average in vaccinating Black residents but has leaped ahead in its rate for Hispanic residents.