Brockton, Framingham Among 55 Communities Labeled High Risk For COVID
CBS Boston 4/2/2021 Syndicated Local – CBS Boston
BROCKTON (CBS) – Brockton has once again been labeled as a high-risk community for coronavirus, and people are frustrated.
A steady stream of people got vaccines in Brockton on Thursday, but while it’s heartening to see, it’s small comfort for Connie Medeiros. Just weeks ago, she lost her husband and father to COVID. It happened just days apart.
“It’s just a nightmare,” said Connie Medeiros. “I still don’t accept it. I just feel like he’s still in the hospital. I feel like my dad is still in the hospital. I just can’t explain it.”
COVID vaccine inequity frustrates Massachusetts diverse, lower-income cities hardest hit by virus Hadley Barndollar, USA TODAY NETWORK
How COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting people of color
Replay Video UP NEXT
For New England’s only majority Black city, the closest COVID mass vaccination site is 23 miles away a one-hour round-trip drive with no public transportation.
Brockton has seen more than 11,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus since last March and 372 related deaths. The city is frequently among the top 10 communities in Massachusetts with the highest percentage of positive cases.
And yet, when the state announced in January the opening of more than 100 vaccination sites for those age 75 and older, none were located in Brockton. A marker for Brockton High School on the state s vaccine locator map was for a clinic to vaccinate first responders that has since closed to make way for when city students return to a hybrid learning mod
For New England’s only majority Black city, the closest COVID mass vaccination site is 23 miles away a one-hour round-trip drive with no public transportation.
Brockton has seen more than 11,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus since last March and 372 related deaths. The city is frequently among the top 10 communities in Massachusetts with the highest percentage of positive cases.
And yet, when the state announced in January the opening of more than 100 vaccination sites for those age 75 and older, none were located in Brockton. A marker for Brockton High School on the state s vaccine locator map was for a clinic to vaccinate first responders that has since closed to make way for when city students return to a hybrid learning model.