MA COVID Vaccine Probe: Baker, Mass Vaccine Site Maker to Testify in Rollout Hearing – NECN necn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from necn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Central Falls and Chelsea: 2 hard-hit cities, 2 diverging fates in vaccine rollout
Philip Marcelo
CENTRAL FALLS Mario Valdez, his wife and their 18-year-old son were fully vaccinated for COVID-19 this month as part of a special effort to inoculate every resident of Central Falls, the Rhode Island community hit hardest by the pandemic.
“I feel happy,” the 62-year-old school bus driver said shortly after receiving his second and final dose. “Too many people here have COVID. It’s better to be safe.”
Roughly 50 miles across the state line is Chelsea, a Massachusetts city that was an early epicenter of the virus. Like Central Falls, it’s a tiny former industrial city that is overwhelmingly Latino. Residents of both cities live in dense rows of three-decker homes and apartment complexes, providing some of the workforce for their respective state capitals of Providence and Boston.
The Day - 2 hard-hit cities illustrate gaps in getting vaccines to the people - News from southeastern Connecticut theday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Rhode Island has opened up vaccinations to all Central Fall residents 18 or older. City officials say they’re on pace to inoculate most residents by the summer. Massachusetts, meanwhile, hasn’t done the same for Chelsea or other hard-hit communities of color.