The Vaccination Campaign

The Local Vaccination Campaign Total People Fully Vaccinated (two doses of Moderna or Pfizer or one dose of Johnson & Johnson) Massachusetts: 4,677,864 (up 10,023 from Tuesday) Rhode Island: 726,357 (up 1,362 from Tuesday) Reported changes from the last issue of this newsletter. View all vaccine news and numbers on Globe.com Top Stories: Vaccinations More than 800 Boston employees from "public facing agencies" have been placed on unpaid leave after missing Tuesday's deadline for either getting vaccinated or agreeing to regular COVID-19 testing.  A new study from the COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States found that 75 percent of adults in Massachusetts would support a universal vaccine mandate. A lawyer for the union for Massachusetts prison guards appeared in court Thursday to ask a federal judge to postpone Governor Charlie Baker's vaccine mandate. The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams will both require proof of vaccination to enter the museums. Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee said the state has reached out to every pediatrician to prepare to give COVID-19 shots to 5- to 11-year-olds once they are approved for that age group.

 

 

 

 

The Local Impact Massachusetts:  775,963 cases (up 3,031 from Tuesday)  ·  18,427 deaths (up 33 from Tuesday)  ·  567 hospitalizations (up 26 from Tuesday) Rhode Island:  176,090 cases (up 603 from Tuesday)  ·  2,860 deaths (up 4 from Tuesday)  ·  106 hospitalizations (up 12 from Tuesday) Reported increases or decreases from the last issue of this newsletter. Sources: Massachusetts Department of Public Health Rhode Island Department of Health View all COVID-19 news and numbers on Globe.com Top Stories: COVID-19 Impact Massachusetts education leaders on Thursday reported 1,901 new cases among public school students and 337 among staff members for the week that ended Wednesday.

 

 

Across the US and Around the World US 404,371,247 vaccinations 44,732,933 cases 720,482 deaths Sources: Johns Hopkins Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Most and Least Vaccinated US States (% of population fully vaccinated) Top Ranked Vermont (70.3%) Connecticut (69.6%) Rhode Island (69.5%) Maine (69.3%) Massachusetts (68.6%) Bottom Ranked West Virginia (40.7%) Idaho (42.5%) Wyoming (42.7%) Alabama (43.7%) Mississippi (44.5%) Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Worldwide  6,573,539,479 vaccinations 239,493,291 cases 4,879,038 deaths Source: Johns Hopkins  Top Stories: US and Worldwide A bit of good news from Dr. Anthony Fauci: The surge of Delta cases in the United States appears to be ebbing. An analysis from the Food and Drug Administration questioned whether Johnson & Johnson has presented enough evidence to justify the need for booster doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. The science journal Nature is calling for institutions to "do more to protect and defend scientists" who speak out about the pandemic.

 

 

What's Next Rapid antigen tests can add a layer of protection and comfort to your holiday celebrations this fall and winter. How much has the pandemic changed us? Not enough, according to Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham.