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CPD’s 18th Secret Santa Gift Drive for Older Adults Distributes Hundreds of Gifts to Seniors

Beginning February 8, the Cambridge Public Health Department will be offering free COVID-19 and flu vaccines to adults and children (age 5+) every Wednesday from 12-4 p.m. at 119 Windsor Street, second floor.

The Baker-Polito Administration, in collaboration with the Museum of Science Boston and Dunkin’ announced initiatives to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines in the Commonwealth. Massachusetts continues to be a national leader in vaccination rates with over 77% of adults having received at least one dose, and the Administration is supporting additional opportunities to drive vaccine uptake.

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome John Cassidy—staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the books Dot.con: The Greatest Story Ever Sold and How Markets Fail, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction—for a discussion of his new book Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI. Registration is required.

Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. If you haven’t already, order yours today. Starting this week, every home in the U.S. will be able to order an additional set of 4 tests.

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Robert J. Sampson—Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor at Harvard University, Affiliated Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences—for a discussion of his new book Marked by Time: How Social Change Has Transformed Crime and the Life Trajectories of Young Americans. He will be joined in conversation by Robert D. Putnam—Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy, Emeritus at Harvard University and recipient of the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama. Registration is required.

In keeping with the recommendation of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Cambridge Public Health Department, the City of Cambridge today is strongly recommending that residents wear face coverings anytime they are outside of their home, especially in public settings in which physical distancing measures (ensuring 6 feet of space or more from others) are difficult to maintain. Those areas include grocery stores and pharmacies.

With people gathering indoors more as the weather gets colder, COVID-19 cases are on the rise. The Cambridge Public Health Department encourages residents to protect themselves and others by staying up-to-date on COVID vaccinations, wearing masks indoors when outside their own home, and keeping spaces well-ventilated.

Governor Baker announced that he will institute a statewide rollback to Phase III, Step 1 of the Commonwealth’s Reopening Plan on Sunday, December 13. Cambridge has remained at Step 1 of Phase III since the summer.

Booster shots increase your protection against COVID-19, including variants. During the Omicron surge, receipt of a third (booster) dose has been highly effective at preventing COVID-19–associated hospitalizations, the need for mechanical ventilation, and death. These findings underscore the importance of receiving a booster dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to prevent both moderately severe and severe COVID-19, especially while the Omicron variant is the predominant circulating variant.