COVID testing pilot in early education underway in Massachusetts
Updated Jan 13, 2021;
By Katie Lannan | State House News Service
State officials are working to develop a COVID-19 testing pilot program focused on early education and care, Education Secretary James Peyser said Tuesday.
Peyser’s comments, during a Board of Early Education and Care meeting, came as Massachusetts is rolling out a new pooled testing initiative in K-12 schools and a day after more than 250 early education, care and out-of-school time providers, advocates and associations wrote to the Baker administration, blasting their sector’s exclusion from the plan.
In a Monday letter to Gov. Charlie Baker, Peyser and other officials, the group called it “unconscionable” that the pool testing program would not be open to early education and care providers, arguing that “if there are funds available for weekly, preventative Covid-19 testing for K-12 educators, there are funds available for us.”
THE HOUSE AND SENATE
Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of Dec. 28, 2020, to Jan. 1, 2021.
OVERRIDE BAKER’S VETO OF BILL TO INCREASE ABORTION ACCESS (H 5179)
House 107-50, Senate 32-8, overrode Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a bill that would allow abortions after 24 weeks in the case of lethal fetal anomalies and lower the age from 18 to 16 at which a minor can choose to have an abortion without parental or judicial consent.
“I strongly support a woman’s right to access reproductive health care, and many provisions of this bill,” said Baker in a letter that accompanied his veto. “I support, for example, the provision that would enable a woman to access an abortion where the child would not survive after birth, and the modifications to the judicial bypass process that make it more accessible to minors who are unable to obtain the consent of a parent or guardian. I also support the changes that elimina
Top story: UMass Medical School confers 135 Doctor of Medicine degrees in virtual commencement proceedings
New physicians graduate early to join health care workforce challenged by COVID-19 By Sandra Gray and Bryan Goodchild
UMass Medical School Communications December 25, 2020
As this unprecedented year comes to a close, the Office of Communications is rerunning some of the big stories of 2020 that highlight the incredible work of the UMass Medical School community. From the first-in-the-nation early graduation of our medical students to the essential clinical research that lead to a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, from the tremendous growth of the institution’s research funding to ground broken on the new research and education building, we have so much to be proud of. Look for these stories on UMassMed News
Top story: UMass Medical School confers 135 Doctor of Medicine degrees in virtual commencement proceedings umassmed.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from umassmed.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Most businesses restricted to 25 percent capacity for at least 2 weeks in âcritical periodâ
By Travis Andersen, Janelle Nanos and Shirley Leung Globe Staff and Globe Columnist,Updated December 22, 2020, 8:51 p.m.
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âThis is part of what we must do during this critical period, when the vaccine is just a few months away, to slow the spread,â Governor Charlie Baker said.Jim Davis/Globe Staff
Governor Charlie Baker on Tuesday announced the toughest set of coronavirus-related restrictions since June, clamping down on the number of people allowed inside restaurants, groceries, and other public gathering spots in an attempt to stave off another holiday surge.