Are smaller vaccination sites the key to reaching residents within Massachusetts’ urban centers?
Updated Feb 13, 2021;
Posted Feb 13, 2021
One of the 10 National Guards m edical personel stands outside the doors at the Eastfield Mall vaccination site. (Douglas Hook / MassLive)
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As the vaccine slowly drips through to municipalities across the state, city leaders look at where they could open their own sites for residents.
Springfield houses the only super vaccination site west of Worcester at the Eastfield Mall, which has seen problems with understaffing and overbooking for the Pfizer-BioNTech dose. On Feb. 1, people 75 years old and over were able to book a vaccine at sites across the state. With a limited number of appointments statewide, officials question how many city residents are getting vaccinated at the site.
‘Tired of being nickeled and dimed’: Springfield City Council joins chorus of communities opposed to Comcast’s proposed data cap
Updated Feb 09, 2021;
Posted Feb 09, 2021
Springfield City Councilor Jesse Lederman, seen in file photo, was lead sponsor of a resolution opposing a Comcast fee for homeowners exceeding a proposed data cap by Comcast on internet usage. (Hoang Leon Nguyen / The Republican)
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SPRINGFIELD The City Council on Monday joined a growing number of communities voicing opposition to a proposed fee charged by Comcast for subscribers exceeding a data cap on internet usage.
“Residents are sick and tired of being nickel and dimed, especially during a pandemic,” said at-large Councilor Jesse Lederman, the lead sponsor. “The internet has become an essential utility for families and businesses, it is time for it to be regulated as such to protect consumers,”
COVID-19 testing capacity is being expanded in the largest city in western Massachusetts.
The city of Springfield is planning to open a COVID-19 testing site at the Putnam Vocational Technical High School. It will be for city residents who want to get tested whether they have symptoms or not, according to the city’s Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris.
Right now, the only other testing site is at Eastfield Mall and there are long lines there and individuals waiting, said Caulton-Harris.
Since the testing site in the Eastfield Mall parking lot opened last fall as part of the state’s Stop The Spread initiative, more than 118 000 people have been tested there free of charge, according to Caulton-Harris.