Hospitals denounce stateâs decision to shut-off vaccine supply
By focusing on mass vaccination sites, the state risks leaving out the vulnerable and reluctant, critics say
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The main entrance of Massachusetts General Hospital.Erin Clark/Globe Staff
Hospital leaders and physicians expressed dismay on Friday at the Baker administrationâs decision to halt vaccine distribution to hospitals and primary care offices, saying it could undercut efforts to reach minority communities and reluctant patients.
But the stateâs top health official said that hospitals were scheduling more vaccine appointments than the state could meet with the current level of supplies.
UMass Memorial Health Care is temporarily stopping new appointments for COVID-19 vaccines for patients because of a dose shortage, with the announcement to staff on Friday coming less than a week after the Worcester hospital system opened a patient vaccine center at the Mercantile Center.
Dr. Eric Dickson, UMass Memorial s president and CEO, said in a staff advisory it won t be booking any new appointments at any patient vaccine clinics for two to three weeks. The decision came after talks with state officials and leaders of other health care systems in Massachusetts, he said, with Gov. Charlie Baker giving priority to patients who have already booked appointments.
ImmersiveTouch
Several start-ups have developed technology that allows surgeons to work remotely.
Augmented and virtual reality can help surgeons train and help operate remotely and in real time.
The pandemic has accelerated the need for AR and VR technology in the operating room.
In 2015, Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram helped perform her first remote live surgery on a bomb victim in Gaza from her home in London. She had no idea that just five years later her technology would be used to enable surgeons to self-isolate and work from home during a pandemic.
As COVID-19 continues to change the way people work, many frontline workers, especially surgeons, do not have the luxury of working from home. Traditionally, they are bound to hospitals, clinics or health care centers.