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Worcester Magazine IN DEMAND: As demand for the COVID-19 vaccine escalates, we re still hearing stories of people who by all means definitely should be getting vaccinated early having troubles. One story that stuck out came to us from Worcester disability activist Deb Ellstrom, who wrote to tell of her travails trying to get her 87-year-old mother vaccinated at Gillette Stadium. Writes Ellstrom, “What an eye-opener. You can t past the first few screens. Mandatory field for email address? How many 80-and-older people do you know who use email? I entered my e-address, just to move the process along. Then there were the mandatory insurance screens … primary insurance; secondary insurance; other insurance … with all the numbers and member info, including coding numbers. Isn t this vaccine to be distributed free, and without administrative costs? Then: why all this detailed insurance that s only used for billing? Something s up here, and it leaves a foul flavor behind. I called my mom back, and told her to call her PCP (primary care provider) and the local Visiting Nurse; at least I know he and she won t charge my mom for the vaccine, and they won t bill her for any other services she didn t receive.” What s frustrating here is that this is not an abnormal story. For many people, it s been the norm. Ellstrom continues, “she was hospitalized for a non-COVID-related problem two weeks ago. I pleaded with her hospital doctor to get her vaccinated before discharge; he told her the hospital had no COVID vaccine. She was discharged with a referral to Dana Farber, because her bloodwork indicated possible recurrence of cancer. She s at high risk for all kinds of possible complications, but we can t seem to get her vaccinated against COVID.”
Voices raised against the dark: New England songs to see out 2020 Usually, this time of year, I do a rundown of the best music videos from New England artists, but while there were some great ones this year, I decided to take a different tack. Nothing makes tough times go by easier than a good song, and seeing as this has been an exceptionally tough year, here are the songs by New England artists that made it all go down a bit easier. These aren t just great songs, these are songs that, in their own way, caught the spirit of the year in ways that really resonated. Some convey the year s rage and anger, others its absurdity, or its sense of loss and nostalgia. Some have a cathartic vibe to them that s deeply appreciated when things get too heavy, but all of them ring with the only currency that s mattered this year: Hope.