At a walk-in clinic at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School in Great Barrington, people wait in line Wednesday for coronavirus vaccines. The clinic is the first of its kind in Berkshire County. Another is scheduled here on Saturday, as well as on Thursday in Pittsfield and North Adams. HEATHER BELLOW â THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
The first walk-in vaccine clinic in Berkshire County went at a very nice pace Wednesday, said Heather Barbieri, The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative s South County leader.
The clinic, held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School in Great Barrington, saw a total of 101 walk-ins along with 88 scheduled appointments. There were 300 doses available, and the leftovers can be used at the Saturday clinic, which also will combine scheduled appointments with walk-ins.
ALABAMA GOVERNOR TO LIFT EMERGENCY ORDER: Workers staff a mostly empty COVID-19 vaccination clinic located at Cathedral of the Cross A.O.H. Church of God in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday. Health officials say vaccine demand is on the decline in some places, and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said she will soon end a state health order and state of emergency enacted because of the coronavirus pandemic. ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY THE NUMBERS: The Department of Public Health said 18 new deaths were reported in Massachusetts, pushing the statewide total to 17,288. Confirmed cases rose 481 to 648,249. That is the smallest daily total in nearly seven months.
UPDATED MASK RULE: As of Friday, the state no longer requires people in Massachusetts to wear a face covering while outdoors unless they are within six feet of a member
THE JOINTS FOR JABS CAMPAIGN: A man wearing a cannabis costume hands out marijuana cigarettes in New York last week during a Joints for Jabs event. Adults who showed their COVID-19 vaccination cards received a free joint. Places around the U.S. are offering incentives to try to energize the nationâs slowing vaccination drive and get reluctant Americans to roll up their sleeves. The lures have included free beer, pot and doughnuts; savings bonds; and a raffle ticket for a snowmobile. AP FILE
ADAMS OUT OF RED STATUS: The town of Adams came off the stateâs highest-risk status in the latest 14-day report, dropping to yellow, where it joined Adams, Dalton and Pittsfield. Those three communities were already in the yellow category, indicating a concerning level of continuing infections.
TAKING THEIR SHOT AT CASINO: Workers depart a main gate to the Encore Boston Harbor casino on Wednesday in Everett, Mass. The Encore Boston Harbor casino began offering COVID-19 vaccinations on Tuesday by appointment only to employees and the general public in conjunction with Cambridge Health Alliance, a local health care organization. STEVEN SENNE - AP
JUST WONDERING DEPARTMENT: Readers, does this seem like an adequate punishment for a false business claim that put human health at risk?
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WHAT HE DID: A Quincy man sold lanyards that he falsely claimed would protect buyers against viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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HOW DID HE DO IT? Federal prosecutors said Jiule Lin, 38, began advertising card-shaped devices to be worn as a lanyard on eBay in March 2020 with the explicit claim that the product would protect the buyer or wearer of the product from viruses or bacteria, stating that the product s main ingredient was chlorine