Tri-Town Health Department, the regional department serving Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge, is urging patience as confusion greets the slow-motion rollout of coronavirus vaccine countywide.
Responding to a âmassive numberâ of inquiries from residents, Tri-Town Health Executive Director James Wilusz sent a message to community leaders on Thursday offering reassurance that âwe hear their voices and we are all working hard.â
The message followed the listing on a state website of a vaccination clinic at the Berkshire Community College Field House that omitted language indicating it was only for first responders. More than 100 ineligible residents signed up for Thursday appointments but those were canceled after registrants were informed that the clinic was not open to the general public.
GREAT BARRINGTON â There was that birthday party in Pittsfield, the flag football games in Adams and a few âlarge gatheringsâ that set off a sizable volume of coronavirus infections in Pittsfield last month and trickled down to South County.
And there were other, more subtle exposures. One out-of-state visitor passed on what one Berkshire County public health official said appeared to be a different, mean strain of the virus that made âone group of women extremely sick.â
Leslie Drager, public health nurse for 20 Berkshire towns, said most symptoms she has seen have been mild â cold and allergylike â until that group surfaced on her radar.
LEE â Lee Public Schools will remain in hybrid learning mode, despite surrounding communities reverting to all-remote education because of a spike in coronavirus cases.
School Superintendent Michael Richard told the Lee School Committee on Tuesday night that he has been asked by several residents why Lee doesnât go all remote as a preemptive measure to help keep COVID-19 at bay.
The Great Barrington-based Berkshire Hills Regional School District mostly is remote, with Lenox and Pittsfield returning to all online instruction because of a recent jump in COVID cases in their communities.
Richard noted that Lee is in the green, meaning it is on the low end of the stateâs scale of tracking cases in each municipality. As of last week, Lee has 15 active cases, according to state health data.