International Overdose Awareness Day - August 31, 2021

Town of Franklin, MA (@TOFranklinMA) tweeted Sat, Aug 28, 2021:

The SAFE Coalition and local leaders will gather for a vigil on Tuesday, August 31st at 6:30 PM in observance of International Overdose Awareness Day. 

All are welcome to attend. https://t.co/8U5XPVNfj6

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1431713966003208193?s=03

International Overdose Awareness Day - August 31, 2021

"Mass. should require vaccination for all teachers and eligible students"

Tracy O'Connell Novick (@TracyNovick) tweeted Sun, Aug 29, 2021:

I was honored to be asked by the vice chair of the Worcester Board of Health Dr. Jerry Gurwitz to jointly write a piece calling for a state vaccine mandate for all eligible in our schools.

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/TracyNovick/status/1431920387990904833?s=03

"LOCAL BOARDS OF HEALTH, school committees, and municipal leaders are struggling to navigate through the challenges of assuring that all eligible school children and teachers are vaccinated. Increased urgency around the need for vaccination follows from the alarming turn the pandemic has taken. The highly contagious Delta variant has very rapidly become the dominant strain across Massachusetts and the country as a whole.

While vaccination efforts across the Commonwealth continue, low vaccination rates in adolescents are extremely concerning, especially in our largest cities. In Worcester, among those ages 12 to 19, 6 out of 10 have not been fully vaccinated. Even with enhanced vaccination efforts, including the opening of new clinics over the coming weeks, these numbers are unlikely to change substantially prior to the opening of schools or in the first weeks of the school year unless the state mandates vaccinations for eligible students — as well as for teachers and staff."

 Continue to read the article online  https://t.co/SUuTTGWwRl

"Mass. should require vaccination for all teachers and eligible students"

Dean College is looking for part-time Academic Coaches, is that calling for you?

Dean College is looking for part-time Academic Coaches

ACADEMIC COACH (PART TIME DAYTIME)

"The Academic Coach at Dean College provides a strategy-based approach to academic support for students enrolled in Academic Coaching, a fee-based learning program open to all students at the institution. Academic Coaches work both in person with students to address immediate academic needs while developing long-term independent skills in studying, reading, and organization. Academic Coaches help students become independent learners. Time management, organization and long-term planning are some of the skills that students gain through their experience in Academic Coaching. 

This is a fall-spring semester, part-time position fifteen to twenty-nine hours per week for 14 weeks each semester. Prospective candidates' must be available to work at least three days per week."

https://dean.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=135372

ACADEMIC COACH (PART TIME EVENINGS)

"The Academic Coach at Dean College provides a strategy-based approach to academic support for students enrolled in Academic Coaching, a fee-based learning program open to all students at the institution. Academic Coaches work with students to address immediate academic needs, while developing long-term independent skills in studying, reading, and organization. Academic Coaches help students become independent learners and to eventually transition away from tutorial support. Time management, organization and long-term planning are some of the skills that students gain through their experience in Academic Coaching.

This is a fall-spring semester, part-time position; eight to twelve hours per week for 14 weeks each semester. Prospective candidates' must be available to work at least two evenings per week for extended hours. Must be able to work additional days/evenings (or occasional weekends) to make up hours when necessary."

https://dean.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=133191

 

Dean College is looking for part-time Academic Coaches, is that calling for you?

COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine updates, including Franklin's vaccine stats - a quick recap

1 - Maura George (@maurageorgemd) tweeted Fri, Aug 27, 2021:

As a mom of 3 little boys, I am desperate to get my kids' childhood back to normal. As a doctor, I want data to know that what we're doing is actually effective. I was floored when I graphed these numbers from ATL schools this week. #maskmandate https://t.co/7prNuI7XAQ

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/maurageorgemd/status/1431368291948302347?s=03

Georgia Dept. of Public Health data -> https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report

COVID-19 cases in Atlanta students, mask mandate

2. "Children’s hospitals around the country are seeing a surge in Covid-19 patients"

"As the Delta variant grips the country, children who are not yet eligible for vaccination are at higher risk of being infected — especially in places where the virus is surging. A New Orleans children’s hospital had so many Covid-19 patients that a federal “surge team” was called in to bolster an exhausted staff.

Children under 12 may have to wait until the end of the year to get vaccinated. Half of the adolescents in the U.S. have now received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the White House said on Friday."

Via the New York Times Friday highlights->    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/briefing/kabul-evictions-candyman.html

The full article and heart rendering photos can be found ->

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/us/children-covid-delta.html

3 -  "Why Provincetown’s Response to Its COVID Outbreak Was So Effective"

"Source investigation complements standard contact tracing; it’s not a substitute. When outbreaks are detected, people need to be informed immediately, so they can get tested and ensure they are not unknowingly spreading the virus. Once a cluster is detected, venues should re-evaluate their COVID mitigation measures and ensure that staff are vaccinated and ventilation systems refresh indoor air at least four to six times per hour. High-risk venues should keep lists of patrons, and outreach to customers through social media can be very effective. Mandating that customers are vaccinated, as New York, San Francisco and New Orleans have done, may not suffice to prevent outbreaks. Some European countries are requiring evidence of a negative coronavirus test for unvaccinated people entering indoor entertainment venues.

The Provincetown outbreak occurred as thousands of people arrived to celebrate the Fourth of July, believing their vaccinations would protect them against infection. When infected people began feeling ill, some didn’t immediately attribute their symptoms to COVID-19 because of the widespread belief that breakthrough infections were almost impossible. After the cases emerged, the local health department’s investigation was undoubtedly helped by strong word-of-mouth communication, as many infections affected members of the gay community, a group that for decades has witnessed the effects of the AIDS pandemic. Since then, many local businesses have reassessed their COVID mitigation measures, the town reinstituted an indoor mask mandate and new cases have leveled off."

Also from the New York Times, where the full article can be found ->  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/opinion/provincetown-covid-contact-tracing.html

4 -CNN’s Leana Wen: ‘Public health is now under attack in a way that it has not been before’

An excerpt from the full interview (which is definitely worth reading to get the full context:

"Yeah. It’s the height of American exceptionalism that we are where we are. I have family in other parts of the world where health-care workers and vulnerable elderly people are begging to get the vaccine. And here, we’re sitting on stockpiles and begging people to take the vaccine.

I think how we got here is complicated, right? I agree with the surgeon general in issuing the advisory about misinformation and disinformation — certainly that plays a big role here. There are individuals out there who are knowingly spreading misinformation. There are others who are clicking and then, unfortunately, sharing misinformation that’s leading to question that and the efficacy of vaccines. That misinformation is taking away people’s freedom to make decisions for themselves and their families.

And I think the Biden administration needs to take some responsibility here, also, for their miscalculation and misjudgment in being so uneasy about vaccine verification and relying on the honor code. Come on. Did they really think that the honor system was going to work during a pandemic when many people behaved so dishonorably? The honor system did not work. And, of course, the unvaccinated are now running around living their lives as if they are vaccinated. And that’s led to the surge that we are now seeing. We lost the powerful incentive to increase vaccines in that really important window."

Read the full interview on the Washington Post page (subscription maybe required)  
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/cnns-leana-wen-public-health-is-now-under-attack-in-a-way-that-it-has-not-been-before/2021/08/19/42c76184-ef0b-11eb-a452-4da5fe48582d_story.html

5 - Via the MA.gov DPH weekly updates, here is the vaccine statistics by age group for Franklin, Not that the population up to 11 years old is excluded as the vaccine is not yet authorized for them.

Boston Globe article with their coverage on this week's data

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/15/nation/massachusetts-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-by-city/

My downloaded copy filtered for Franklin data (as of 8/26/21)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YTnqmKTprkfFDGkBEoM678QlxqbvNgP9/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101938843903614700481&rtpof=true&sd=true

The full data file can be found on the MA Gov page

https://www.mass.gov/doc/weekly-covid-19-municipality-vaccination-report-august-26-2021/download

Franklin's vaccine stats as of 8/26/21

The Franklin Interact Club is looking for new members. Could that be you?

Franklin Interact Club (@FranklinIntera1) tweeted Fri, Aug 27, 2021:

Looking for youth volunteers to join Interact! https://t.co/a6HajaJChV

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/FranklinIntera1/status/1431373144690937862?s=03

For more about the Franklin Interact Club, listen to the podcast episode from Aug 2020

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/08/franklin-interact-delivers-100-masks-to.html

The Interact Club is part of the Rotary, you can hear some members of the Rotary talk about the overall club and history as well as the new Interact Club

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/11/fm-400-franklin-ma-rotary-club-111720.html

Franklin Interact Club is looking for new members. Could that be you?

New story walk is up at the SNETT, a cool day for a walk!

"The new #storywalk is up! You can find it at Center St trailhead in Bellingham (198 Center St for your GPS). Enjoy!

#SNETT #railtrail #FBRTC #BellinghamMA #FranklinMA #massdcr
— at Southern New England Trunkline Trail."

Shared from Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/185258844899495/posts/4292760737482598/

New story walk is up at the SNETT, a cool day for a walk!

Wicked Local: "Here's why 16-year-old twins got the COVID vaccine today in Franklin"

"When you have a twin, it goes without saying that you will be doing a lot of things in tandem.

And for Franklin's Gerety twins — 16-year-olds Brendan and Shawn — on Wednesday this included rolling up their sleeves together and getting their first vaccination shot against COVID-19.

The two teens were among those who elected to take advantage of a state Department of Public Health mobile vaccination clinic that the town's Health Department hosted outside the Davis Thayer School.

Every set of twins has matching qualities, but also some differences. In this case, one Gerety was a tad nervous about getting the vaccination; the other was not."

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/country-gazette/2021/08/26/covid-19-shots-ice-cream-served-up-mobile-vax-clinic-franklin/5574818001/

ice cream was sponsored by Franklin TV