I write to you this evening with relevant COVID-19 updates and resources.
Baker Press Conference Updates
Governor Baker announced today that K-12 educators, child care workers and K-12 school staff will be eligible to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments at Massachusetts vaccination sites starting Thursday, March 11, 2021. The Governor estimates that it will take a month for all eligible individuals, about 400,000 people, to secure a first appointment. Educators may book an appointment at one of the 170 sites currently open to eligible individuals in the Commonwealth by visiting www.mass.gov/covidvaccinemap. There will be specific days at the seven mass vaccination sites for educators to get their COVID-19 vaccines, more details on the subject will be released soon. Learn more here.
You can watch the Governor's COVID-19 latest updates here.
Federal Updates
On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that he was ordering the federal pharmacy program to prioritize the vaccination of pre-K-12 teachers and staff as well as child care workers at pharmacies, and directed the roughly 20 states that had not already made teachers eligible to do the same. By today, Wednesday, March 3, 2021, CVS had added K-12 teachers to the list of populations eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at its clinics, including those in Massachusetts.
MA Vaccination Updates
Teachers, early educators, and school staff members will be able to sign up beginning Thursday, March 11, 2021 for COVID-19 vaccination appointments at any vaccination site in the Commonwealth. Certain mass vaccination sites will hold aside particular days to vaccinate educators. CVS made appointments available to teachers this morning but they are already fully booked. Read more here.
CareWell Urgent Care announced that it expects to receive 3,000 COVID-19 vaccination doses next week on Monday, March 8, 2021. They plan to resume administering second doses on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 to patients who got their first injection at a CareWell facility. The Administration is committed to getting CareWell all of the second doses needed over the next three weeks.
Resources for Booking and Getting to Your Appointment
Phone: Call 2-1-1 between 8:30 AM-8:00 PM Monday-Thursday or 8:30 AM-5:00 PM Friday-Sunday and select the prompt for “help scheduling a vaccine appointment.” This multilingual service is for residents who don’t have Internet access or have trouble using the Internet.
Need help? For detailed information about how to make an appointment, including updates about specific health care providers, see the Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services vaccine resources page. You can also visit macovidvaxhelp.com, which is an unofficial site staffed by volunteers for eligible individuals who are unable to book vaccine appointments on their own.
Need a ride? Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) is offering free transportation for local adults aged 65+ to COVID-19 vaccination sites in Cambridge and Somerville as well as Fenway Park and CHA Malden. For more information, click here. To register for a ride, call SCES at 617-628-2601 or email info@eldercare.org.
The City of Cambridge has published accessibility information for the state’s mass vaccination sites. You can find it here.
Don’t forget to book your second appointment while you’re getting your first dose!
The state has created an interactive dashboard, including the percentage of COVID-19 positive cases and testing rates by city and town. The dashboard can be viewed here.
For Harvard University COVID-19 information, click here.
Testing appointments through the City's free mobile-testing program are available at the following locations:
Monday - 50 Church St. 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday - 50 Church St. 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday - 2254 Massachusetts Ave, St. John the Evangelist Church, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday - CambridgeSide in East Cambridge, 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM (Drive-through testing in garage. Enter on First St.)
Friday - 50 Church St. 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Saturday - Christian Life Center located at 85 Bishop Allen Drive. 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday - CambridgeSide in East Cambridge, 11:00am - 7:00pm (Drive-through testing in garage. Enter on First St.)
You can schedule an appointment online or by calling 617-665-3795.
Cambridge Updates
Free Tax Preparation by Just-A-Start
Just-A-Start (JAS) is offering free remote tax preparation for individuals living in the Greater Boston area who make less than $56,000. Limited in-person service will be available by appointment only. Learn more here.
Winter Farmers Market in Central Square
The Central Square Winter Farmers Market is open Mondays from 12 - 4PM from March 1 through April 19, 2021 at 76 Bishop Allen Drive. They accept SNAP, HIP, and P-EBT and offer a $15 SNAP match. Pre-ordering is available. Read more here.
Apply to Be Part of Starlight Square Season Two
The Starlight Square Steering Committee is now accepting applications for its Spring/Summer season. Anyone interested in organizing programming, performances or events can respond to the request for proposals here; applications are due by Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 11:59 PM. Read more here.
Cambridge Public Library Services - Remote Printing Now Available
In keeping with its efforts to bridge the gap in access to technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cambridge Public Library is now offering remote printing. Details are available on the library website at www.cambridgema.gov/cpl. For assistance, call 617-349-4040 or email library@cambridgema.gov.
Translation Resources Available
Multilingual city resources and information on COVID-19 are available on the City's multilingual help page.
State Updates
Mental Health Services and Resources
If you or a loved one are struggling, please know that you are not alone. Here are some great resources:
Cambridge Works is an ongoing transitional job program for younger adults (ages 18-35) without a college degree who have had difficulty finding a job. Cambridge residents only. For additional information, click here.
Where to Give
On Fridays, Cambridge CoHousing will be collecting food either in a paper bag or small box for the Chelsea Food Collaborative. Drop off is between 9 AM and 2:30 PM at the entrance to CoHousing at 175 Richdale Ave, Cambridge, MA. If you don't see someone at the moment you arrive, please leave it just inside the gate where we will have boxes marked "For Chelsea."
If you are able to give to others during this time, I encourage you to look to additional places that are working to help those most affected by COVID-19:
