The MBTA s Vax Express made its way back to Boston as part of an initiative to help increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccinate those who have yet to receive a dose.The mobile vaccination clinic in an MBTA Commuter Rail train was at South Station on Wednesday after previously stopping there on June 16. The Vax Express, run by CIC Health, also made a stop in Boston s Mattapan neighborhood.CIC Health says about 200 people statewide have received a dose onboard the Vax Express thus far. What we re trying to do at CIC Health is make it as readily accessible as possible by being, literally, in people s backyards, said Samantha Joseph, of CIC Health. It s really important for us to reach communities that have been severely impacted by COVID-19 and to bring the vaccines to them in an environment that may be a little more approachable than going to a hospital or large health care center, said Justin Thompson, a spokesperson for Keolis, which operates the MBTA Commuter Rail.M
Tuesday, May 25, marks one year since George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer.Floyd s murder sparked protests in Massachusetts and across the country most of them peaceful, some violent as demonstrators called for greater accountability for police officers. After seeing the murder of George Floyd, you could not, as a human and someone who believes in humanity, not do something, said Tanisha Sullivan, president of the NAACP s Boston branch. Their voices really did make an impact, Massachusetts State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz.In December 2020, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a sweeping police reform bill into law. The new law, among other changes, set up a commission to certify and decertify police officers, banned the use of chokeholds by police and limited the use of no-knock warrants. While the unimaginable tragedy of his death has served as a catalyst for meaningful racial justice and police reform in Massachusetts and nationwide, our work is no
More people in Massachusetts appear to be taking advantage of the state’s increased focus on walk-in vaccination clinics.On May 10, all seven of the state’s mass COVID-19 vaccination sites started offering walk-in service. Gov. Charlie Baker also began shifting more vaccine doses to smaller settings such as regional collaboratives, pharmacies and doctors’ offices.Union Pharmacy in Newton has about 60 people per day walking in either to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or to make a vaccination appointment.“I tried to schedule my initial one sort of using (online) scheduling, and my first vaccine would have been today. And here I am using walk-in and I got my second one already,” said Mike Silvestri, who got both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at Union Pharmacy along with his wife, Liza.“We’re excited to be able to be freer,” Liza Silvestri said. Anthony Petrillo, a pharmacy intern at Union, says Baker’s decision to drop all of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions on May