News Stories

Beginning this week, the President is directing all federal pharmacy partners to begin to provide walk-in hours. You’ll soon be able to get vaccinated without an appointment at the vast majority of our 40,000 pharmacy locations across the country.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that provides a temporary discount on monthly broadband bills for residents with low incomes or those who lost income during the pandemic. As of May 12, 2021, eligible households will be able to enroll in the program to receive a monthly discount of $50 off the cost of broadband service from an approved provider.

The new Metro North COVID-19 Vaccination Partnership -- a consortium of nine cities, Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), and Tufts University -- announced today that it will open three joint vaccination sites to expand COVID-19 vaccine access in the metro north area. The regional partnership was recently approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as a part of its statewide network of vaccination locations.

The Baker-Polito Administration set a goal of vaccinating approximately four million people in the Commonwealth. According to the CDC’s vaccine data, 3.9 million people in Massachusetts have been fully or partially vaccinated as of today. Another 180,000 people are scheduled to get their first dose in the next 7 days.

The City of Cambridge Pandemic Collaborative is offering upcoming vaccine clinics using the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine. These clinics are free and open to all people 18 years of age and older who live and work in Cambridge.

The City of Cambridge today announced that the city will advance to Phase IV, Step 1 of the Commonwealth’s Reopening Plan, as set forth in Governor Baker’s COVID-19 Order No. 66 on May 6, 2021. The City has remained at a modified Phase III, Step 2 since March 22, 2021. Gathering limits in the city for event venues and in public settings will increase to 100 people indoors and 150 outdoors on May 6, 2021, in accordance with Governor Baker’s COVID-19 Order No. 63 as amended on March 22, 2021.

The Baker-Polito Administration announced that Massachusetts will reopen some outdoor Phase 4, Step 2 industries effective May 10th and put plans in place for further reopening on May 29th and August 1st. The Administration continues to take steps to reopen the Commonwealth's economy with public health metrics continuing to trend in a positive direction. This includes drops in average daily COVID cases and hospitalizations. Massachusetts remains first in the nation for first vaccine doses and total doses administered per capita, among states with more than 5 million people. The Administration will also relax the Face Coverings Order for some outdoor settings, effective April 30th.

This set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people will be updated and expanded based on the level of community spread of SARS-CoV-2, the proportion of the population that is fully vaccinated, and the rapidly evolving science on COVID-19 vaccines.

Access Information on International Travel During COVID-19 from the CDC and View COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination

Following a thorough safety review, including two meetings of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined that the recommended pause regarding the use of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine in the U.S. should be lifted and use of the vaccine should resume.