Mass. coronavirus at a glance
More coronavirus stories
About 200 UMass Memorial Health workers fired for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19
Some 200 employees of UMass Memorial Health, the largest hospital system in Central Massachusetts, have lost their jobs for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the system’s Dec. 1 deadline, a spokesperson said Monday.
Boston announces free COVID-19 rapid tests, larger vaccine clinics for hard-hit neighborhoods
The city will be providing 20,000 free rapid antigen home tests as well as free masks to communities with the highest rates of COVID-19 and high barriers to purchasing test kits on their own, Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, announced Monday.
Traveling for the holidays? Here’s a guide to restrictions and recommendations amid COVID-19
Ahead of the December holidays, here’s a primer on domestic and international travel guidelines, and a few recommendations from public health experts on how to keep yourself and your family members safe.
Beth Teitell
How we got to ‘Omicron,’ a previously obscure, D-list letter
The Greek letter has grabbed the world stage and become the dreaded “variant of concern.”
Walgreens apologizes after failing to notify parents of canceled child vaccine appointments
Walgreens apologized to affected customers in an email to The Washington Post and said it was working to prevent such problems moving forward. The company would not say how many of its customers nationwide have suffered the same frustration. Similar tales from angry consumers have popped up on social media around the country since early November.
Unvaccinated Italians face new restrictions as holidays near
Italy is making life more uncomfortable for unvaccinated people as the holidays draw near, excluding them from indoor restaurants, theaters, and museums to reduce the spread of coronavirus and encourage vaccine skeptics to get their shots.
J&J booster works well for people who had Pfizer originally, study finds
People who received Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines may get as much benefit from a Johnson & Johnson booster shot as a Pfizer one. That’s the finding of a small study released Sunday.
Omicron’s spread across hotel hall highlights transmission worry
The Omicron variant spread among two fully vaccinated travelers across the hallway of a Hong Kong quarantine hotel, underscoring why the highly mutated coronavirus strain is unnerving health authorities.
