From CommonWealth Magazine we share two articles of interest for Franklin:
"A FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE recommended on Tuesday that the initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccines expected to become available starting in two weeks should go to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities before being rolled out to other high-priority groups over the coming months.
Gov. Charlie Baker said the anticipated arrival of the vaccines means there is “light at the end of the tunnel,” but he cautioned that most of the general public won’t gain access to the shots until April, May, or June at the earliest.
The two vaccines awaiting emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration have been developed by Pfizer and Moderna. Both vaccines are said to be 94 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 and 100 percent effective in warding off severe cases of the disease. Each vaccine requires two shots, administered roughly four weeks apart, so even if someone is given an initial dose in December the final dose is unlikely to be taken until January.
“It’s going to take awhile before people literally start finishing the vaccine process and start to generate antibodies,” Baker said."
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The CDC page where the recommendations will land when updated can be found
"IT’S BEEN SIX MONTHS since members of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus hung their heads in silence over the death of George Floyd, the unarmed black man killed beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.
The moment spurred nationwide calls for specific and targeted police reform, including on Beacon Hill. Those calls were heard on Tuesday as both the House and Senate passed a compromise police reform bill heralded by many top legislators, including members of the caucus, as groundbreaking. The House voted to pass the measure 92-67, and the Senate 28-12.
“This landmark legislation will begin to address the inequities we’ve seen for years,” said Springfield Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, chair of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus."
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