Free COVID test kits are back: Here’s how to get yours

Free COVID test kits are back: Here's how to get yours By Colleen Tressler, FTC, Division of Consumer and Business Education Starting November 20, every U.S. household can again place an order to receive four more free COVID-19 rapid tests delivered directly to their home. Read more ->  https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/11/free-covid-test-kits-are-back-heres-how-get-yours

Free COVID test kits are back: Here’s how to get yours

Vaccines and what they do "reduce your risk of hospitalization and death"

"Rick from Maryland is among the many readers who expressed bewilderment about becoming infected despite vaccination. “My wife and I are both in our 80s with diabetes," he wrote. "We got the new vaccine as soon as it became available. Not even two weeks later, we both tested positive. We are fine other than for a stuffy nose, but we are wondering what happened. Some of our family members are against vaccines, and they are using our experience to explain why they are not getting vaccinated.”

Rick brings up an important point: We need to be clear about what the coronavirus vaccines do and what they don’t. As with every medical intervention, health-care providers must set expectations so that people don’t view anticipated outcomes — in this case, testing positive — as failures.

The most important reason to stay up-to-date on coronavirus vaccines (and the flu vaccine and RSV vaccine, for that matter) is to reduce your risk of hospitalization and death. On this front, the coronavirus vaccine has delivered consistently strong results. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the bivalent vaccine reduced the chance of critical illness by 69 percent in the week to 59 days following the shot. The protection remained three to four months later, though it diminished to 46 percent."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/12/covid-vaccine-booster-benefits-limitations-protection/

Vaccines and what they do "reduce your risk of hospitalization and death"

Free COVID test kits are back: Here’s how to get yours

Free COVID test kits are back: Here's how to get yours By Colleen Tressler, FTC, Division of Consumer and Business Education Starting September 25, you can order four free test kits per household through COVIDtests.gov. Read more ->  https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/09/free-covid-test-kits-are-back-heres-how-get-yours

Free COVID test kits are back: Here’s how to get yours

Updated COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children have just been authorized and recommended

"NEW: Updated COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children have just been authorized and recommended.

This means immunizations for all three major fall and winter respiratory viruses – COVID-19, flu, and RSV – are available.

Learn more at https://t.co/S2DQV6MlBv"

Shared from ->  https://t.co/Rc34cBzbq6

Updated COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children have just been authorized and recommended

Boston Globe: "Cold virus season is nearly upon us. Here’s what to know about new RSV, COVID, and flu shots"

"It’s almost time for seasonal viruses to return to the forefront of everyone’s minds. But, this year, there is good news: People will have more ways to protect themselves, thanks to new vaccines and injections for RSV, influenza, and COVID.

Here is what you need to know about the multiple shots doctors recommend this season."

Continue reading the Boston Globe article (subscription may be required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/08/22/metro/covid-rsv-boosters-fall-2023/

A health care worker prepared to administer a vaccine. NATHALIA ANGARITA/BLOOMBERG CREATIVE

Town of Franklin, MA: COVID test kits available

Town of Franklin, MA (@TOFranklinMA) tweeted on Sun, Jul 16, 2023:

Residents are reminded that the Franklin Health Department has COVID-19 self test kits available. Residents can call the Public Health Nurse at (508) 613-1341 to check for availability and coordinate curbside pick up outside of the Senior Center. https://t.co/rLrMz5RuUZ 

Shared from -> https://twitter.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1680578209543225344

Town of Franklin, MA: COVID test kits available

CDC simplifies COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, allows older adults and immunocompromised adults to get second dose of the updated vaccine | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

Based upon the FDA actions announced in this release, the CDC has updated their guidance as well.

"Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 bivalent mRNA vaccines to simplify the vaccination schedule for most individuals. This action includes authorizing the current bivalent vaccines (original and omicron BA.4/BA.5 strains) to be used for all doses administered to individuals 6 months of age and older, including for an additional dose or doses for certain populations. The monovalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are no longer authorized for use in the United States."

Continue reading for the FDA details ->

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-changes-simplify-use-bivalent-mrna-covid-19-vaccines

"Following FDA regulatory action, CDC has taken steps to simplify COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and allow more flexibility for people at higher risk who want the option of added protection from additional COVID-19 vaccine doses.

CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met today to discuss these COVID-19 vaccine recommendation changes, and the associated implications and implementation. Although there was no vote at this meeting, ACIP members expressed their support for these recommendations."

Continue reading for the CDC details ->

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/s0419-covid-vaccines.html

CDC simplifies COVID-19 vaccine recommendations

New York Times: "For Older Americans, the Pandemic Is Not Over"

Seniors are increasingly left to protect themselves as the rest of the country abandons precautions: “Americans do not agree about the duty to protect others.”

In early December, Aldo Caretti developed a cough and, despite all his precautions, came up positive for Covid on a home test. It took his family a couple of days to persuade Mr. Caretti, never fond of doctors, to go to the emergency room. There, he was sent directly to the intensive care unit.

Mr. Caretti and his wife, Consiglia, both 85, lived quietly in a condo in Plano, Texas. “He liked to read and learn, in English and Italian,” said his son Vic Caretti, 49. “He absolutely adored his three grandchildren.”

Aldo Caretti had encountered some health setbacks last year, including a mild stroke and a serious bout of shingles, but “he recuperated from all that.”

COVID was different. Even on a ventilator, Mr. Caretti struggled to breathe. After 10 days, “he wasn’t getting better,” said Vic Caretti, who flew in from Salt Lake City. “His organs were starting to break down. They said, ‘He’s not going to make it.’”

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/11/health/covid-pandemic-seniors.html

Eleanor Bravo of Corrales, N.M., lost her sister to Covid early in the pandemic, and two years passed before the family could gather for a memorial. “I had this inordinate fear that if I got Covid, I would die too,” she said.Credit...Adria Malcolm for The New York Times

Annual booster for COVID-19 proposed

"US health officials want to make COVID-19 vaccinations more like the annual flu shot.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday proposed a simplified approach for future vaccination efforts, allowing most adults and children to get a once-a-year shot to protect against the mutating virus.

This means Americans would no longer have to keep track of how many shots they’ve received or how many months it’s been since their last booster.

The proposal comes as boosters have become a hard sell. While more than 80% of the US population has had at least one vaccine dose, only 16% of those eligible have received the latest boosters authorized in August."

Continue reading the article online -> 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/01/23/nation/fda-lays-out-annual-covid-19-shot-plan-similar-flu/

COVID-19 vaccinations could become an annual affair. VEEJAY VILLAFRANCA/BLOOMBERG

Additional COVID-19 Test Kits Available to Franklin Residents

Additional COVID-19 Test Kits Available to Franklin Residents

The Franklin Health Department received more home COVID-19 self test kits from the state. Franklin residents can call the Public Health Nurse at (508) 613-1341 to check for availability and coordinate curbside pick up outside of the Senior Center. 

Pick up hours are as follows...

• Mon, Tues, Thurs: 8 AM - 4 PM
• Wednesday: 8 AM - 6 PM
• Friday 8 AM - 1 PM

There is a limited supply! One test per household member, first come first serve.

Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/additional-covid-19-test-kits-available-franklin-residents

Additional COVID-19 Test Kits Available to Franklin Residents

"significantly fewer people support requirements that children be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella than did just two years ago"

"Vaccine disinformationists have cherry-picked data to support their claims, failing to note that genetic connective tissue disorders are important risk factors for ascending aortic aneurysms (and in my husband’s case the most likely risk factor, as early genetic test results suggest).

When disinformation profiteers leverage tragedies like Grant’s and Mr. Hamlin’s for their personal gain, they re-traumatize families, compromising our ability to interpret information and distinguish truth from lies and putting all of us at risk. The results of allowing this to continue will be disastrous. Merchants of disinformation argue that vaccines killed my husband, but they’re also at least in part responsible for the return of polio to the United States and the fact that so many children in Ohio are suffering from measles right now. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that while most of the public still supports routine childhood vaccinations, significantly fewer people support requirements that children be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella than did just two years ago. In December, Congress repealed a Covid vaccine mandate for troops even though doing so threatens military readiness and puts our nation’s security at risk."

Continue reading the article online - (gifted article hence long URL)

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/opinion/grant-wahl-celine-gounder-vaccine.html?unlocked_article_code=m2-kre8YItxU0muS6_jLsN-NNQqZ8ozQdQKP0IDPtam6WwTGfNzKAjkQn7_E7zIZ_1XruxpG7LghYON1oeYx3RqzJq02SpQwTEPUI-PEDxc7In7363SFTNpG4vI9jf2RQfQvNL7M0gx844SGh8Pul_sbljZw1Cp2cjsLOZbV-0fsYUwId34fLPtzYrOsNW5EjOwXJEfgP7s2cyCr2_tbMEeIM1FQsJv0A8f88hSIvjYnEfJzzuKVTMQu5AwzkDei7aGzWxganIwjxUj7rhPEMWV3lzbA6IN_M18GDBkBdlsoXqflP7iU5w86ZytvejhNCQcfPlMWyYAEea0xo2MOyup0-4yK4F3Xl-kh&smid=tw-share

Céline  Gounder & Grant Wahl (via Céline Gounder)

Board of Health reorganizes and approved Reflexology regulations (audio)

FM #909 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 909 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Town of Franklin Board of Health Meeting held on Wednesday, January 4, 2023. All three board members participated, 2 in room, 1 remote (hence roll call votes). Health Dept staff present were in the 3rd floor training room. 

Quick Recap:

• Public hearing on proposed reflexology regulations held as scheduled, regulations approved, to be effective in 30 days to allow for posting, communications, etc.

• Reorganization of committee resulted in B Sweet remaining as Chair, and T Cochrane taking role as Vice-Chair 

• Capture of food waste pilot program made another appearance on TV, is continuing to be expanded to other schools

• Inspector’s report, Nurse’s report, Epidemiologist report all touting volume and some issues but nothing major

• Homeless data gathered for report to CHANA6 region (of which we are part)

• Development of new OPIOID dashboard almost complete, updates to COVID dashboard ongoing, new Flu dashboard also nearing competition status

The meeting runs about 30 minutes. Let’s listen to the Board of Health meeting Jan 4, 2022. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-909-town-of-franklin-board-of-health-mtg-01-04-23

--------------

The Board of Health agenda can be found ->

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/1-4-23_0.pdf 

Reflexology regulations as proposed

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/regulation_governing_the_practice_of_bodywork_draft_11-2-22.pdf 

My notes collected in a Twitter thread PDF ->

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y-9VCBjQzNIFo5couL4nsGDvTxRqRQz2/view?usp=share_link 

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Board of Health reorganizes and approved Reflexology regulations (audio)

New York Times: "Epidemics That Weren’t: How Countries Shut Down Recent Outbreaks"

Benjy Renton (@bhrenton) tweeted Thu, Dec 29, 2022:

It is important to acknowledge the instances globally in which the public health system worked as it was designed — outbreaks that were mitigated and prevented through community trust, rapid vaccine deployment and an effective public health workforce.   https://t.co/JVADQ0hJhe

"While cutting-edge vaccine technology and genomic sequencing have received lots of attention in the COVID years, the interventions that helped prevent these six pandemics were steadfastly unglamorous: building the trust of communities in the local health system. Training local staff in how to report a suspected problem effectively. Making sure funds are available to dispense swiftly, to deploy contact tracers or vaccinate a village against rabies. Increasing lab capacity in areas far from the main urban centers. Priming everyone to move fast at the first sign of potential calamity."

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/bhrenton/status/1608640248464166914

Volunteers received training on how to conduct safe and dignified burials for Ebola victims in Mubende, Uganda, in  October.Credit...Luke Dray/Getty Images

COVID-19 Misinformation & New variants

"Nearly three years into the pandemic, Covid-19 remains stubbornly persistent. So, too, does misinformation about the virus.

As Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths rise in parts of the country, myths and misleading narratives continue to evolve and spread, exasperating overburdened doctors and evading content moderators.

What began in 2020 as rumors that cast doubt on the existence or seriousness of Covid quickly evolved into often outlandish claims about dangerous technology lurking in masks and the supposed miracle cures from unproven drugs, like ivermectin. Last year’s vaccine rollout fueled another wave of unfounded alarm. Now, in addition to all the claims still being bandied about, there are conspiracy theories about the long-term effects of the treatments, researchers say."

Continue reading the New York Times article online -> (subscription may be required)   https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/technology/covid-misinformation-online.html

"A new coronavirus variant named XBB has swiftly become the dominant form of COVID-19 spreading in the Northeast, jumping from about 35 percent of cases during the week ending Dec. 17 to just over half last week, according to CDC data.

The rapid spread indicates that the XBB variant is more adept than its predecessors at evading the immunity that comes from vaccines and infections.

“It looks like it’s just going to blow the other ones away in a very short period,” said Dr. Jeremy Luban, professor of molecular medicine, biochemistry, and molecular biotechnology at UMass Chan Medical School. “The most likely explanation is that it’s more transmissible.”

But significantly, Luban said, there is no reason to think that XBB causes more severe disease than other variants."

Continue reading the Boston Globe article online ->  (subscription may be required)  https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/12/28/metro/new-coronavirus-variant-more-adept-evading-immunity-now-dominates-northeast/

Jay Gates, a music teacher at the Samuel Adams Elementary School in East Boston got a COVID-19 booster shot in the school gym in early December. JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF

Here’s where to get FREE COVID tests

Here's where to get FREE COVID tests By Gema de las Heras With the reopening of the federal government program to order no-cost COVID-19 tests, there are more options to get free tests this year.  But how do you know what's legit and what's a scam? Read on. Read more ->  https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/12/heres-where-get-free-covid-tests

Here’s where to get FREE COVID tests

"more worried about what the implications of that lack of trust in public health" (audio)

"When the coronavirus vaccines first emerged, they were shown to have 94 to 95 percent efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19.

It was a situation where the message from public health officials was fairly simple – get the shot and help prevent the spread of the disease. Vaccine mandates, passports, and other measures were all deemed smart public health policy.

But as variants of the disease began to appear and multiply, the vaccines couldn’t keep pace. Infections spread rapidly and Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, said public health messaging couldn’t keep up."

Continue reading the article online at CommonWealth Magazine ->

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/the-download/epidemiologist-lays-out-her-covid-19-campaign-of-honesty-2/ 

Listen to the Codcast interview upon which the article is based ->   https://on.soundcloud.com/Sj45J

Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center

CommonWealth Magazine · Epidemiologist lays out her COVID-19 ‘campaign of honesty’

CommonWealth Magazine: "Time to come clean about COVID-19"

RATES OF COVID-19 vaccination in this country are too low. Less than half of those over 65 have received a second booster and ,among children under 5, the rate of vaccination with any dose is in the single digits. Uptake of the new bivalent booster is worryingly slow, with just 31 million Americans (10.1 percent of those eligible) having received it despite the Biden administration having ordered over 170 million doses. In a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, only a third of adults said they had received the new booster or planned to. 

Perhaps we should have expected this for COVID. After all, these are novel vaccines that were developed and rolled out under highly politicized conditions. But childhood vaccination rates for other conditions, including influenza, polio, and measles, are dropping as well, suggesting that people who would have vaccinated their children in the past are starting to think differently about vaccines. In addition to being a critical public health concern, this represents a serious issue with trust in public health authorities and their messengers. And it is these “science communicators” who need to take ownership of their messaging failures and fix the problem before it is too late.

To be clear, misinformation surrounding vaccines has had a damaging impact on vaccine acceptance. Claims that have absolutely no basis in reality, such as the presence of microchips in the formula, or the ability of the vaccine to make you magnetic, somehow gained traction among a proportion of Americans who believe those lies. Certainly, there also was already a base of true “anti-vaxxers” – often naturopathy-inclined politically left-leaning people in the years before COVID-19 vaccines came on the scene, and primarily far right-wing followers of Donald Trump since COVID vaccines became available. 

But it cannot be true that the over 90 percent of parents of children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years who haven’t opted into vaccination are anti-vaxxers, or even that they have fallen prey to nefarious misinformation spreaders. The messaging from public health authorities, government officials and doctors and scientists like us who speak to the media is simply not working. What could we do better?

Continue reading the article online at CommonWealth Magazine ->

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/health/time-to-come-clean-about-covid-19/ 

CommonWealth Magazine: "Time to come clean about COVID-19"

COVID Moderna booster clinic - Nov 2

Franklin Fire (@FranklinMAfire) tweeted on Tue, Oct 18, 2022:

The @TOFranklinMA Health Department is hosting a COVID-19 Moderna Booster Clinic on November 2nd at the Senior Center.  

For more information please see the flyer below. https://t.co/HlqvV94YBn

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/FranklinMAfire/status/1582452931705462784

COVID Moderna booster clinic - Nov 2

DPW roadwork and construction delayed explained

"Because you asked! Installing a new watermain in the "Country Club" neighborhood.  For the most part, the work is going smoothly, however material shortages is slowing the job down. The new water is made of Ductile Iron pipe and it is very short supply due to COVID, which caused the foundry to shut down for a period of time. There is also an increased demand for pipe nationwide because of increased Federal Funding for Public Works projects. 

Two years ago there was no waiting for pipe, now there is wait time of 26 to 40 weeks till the pipe is available.  For example the pipe below was ordered in February,  made in New Jersey on 9/10, delivered to Franklin on 9/16 and started going into the ground on 9/19!

This project was scheduled for next year, as part of the Town's on going "watermain replacement / new roads" program but we were able to use ARPA funding for this work during the current construction season. The old pipe being replaced is made out of asbestos concrete.  

If you would like to know more about water pipe, check out this article:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ductile_iron_pipe

https://www.exponent.com/services/practices/engineering/buildings--structures/capabilities/asbestoscement-transite-pipe-in-water-distributi__/?serviceId=962f01e0-65f2-41ec-b20e-940340a4ab50&loadAllByPageSize=true&knowledgePageSize=7&knowledgePageNum=0&newseventPageSize=7&newseventPageNum=0&professionalsPageNum=1...

Have a great Public Works Day!"

DPW roadwork and construction delayed explained 1

DPW roadwork and construction delayed explained 2

Shared from DPW Facebook page ->  https://www.facebook.com/FranklinDPW/posts/pfbid02z88GotHyJkTTXXQdJQn65WEPig14jARdPvXRZtruxUiGVZjve351vG1LeZBqXLgCl

MA offers in-home COVID-19 vaccinations - call to set an appointment

Massachusetts offers in-home COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone who has difficulty getting to or using a community clinic, including young children. 

Learn more: http://ow.ly/J96M50KofYY. 

To sign up for an in-home vaccination appointment, call (833) 983-0485.

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/MassGov/status/1568253496503291906 

MA offers in-home COVID-19 vaccinations - call to set an appointment