Friday, July 8 COVID-19 & Legislative Updates

Dear all,

I write to you this evening with relevant COVID-19 updates and resources as well as recent legislative news. I hope that you saw my earlier email about the legislation passed by the House on reproductive and gender-affirming health care and step therapy.

Table of Contents

State Updates
National Updates
Cambridge Updates
COVID-19 Testing Information
MA Vaccination Updates
Vaccination Appointment Resources
Today’s Case Count
Infant Formula Shortage Updates
Legislative Updates
Recent Press
Mental Health Services and Resources
Where to Give

State Updates:

Massachusetts launches vaccination effort to curb spread of monkeypox

Massachusetts health care providers are starting to provide more doses of a vaccine to contain the growing monkeypox outbreak. Officials at the state Department of Public Health said they received 2,004 doses of the vaccine, known as JYNNEOS, from the federal government, with more expected in the coming weeks. The doses went to four health care providers, who were allowed to begin vaccinations Wednesday. Learn more: https://wbur.fm/3ygxZu4

Massachusetts Approved to Provide P-EBT for Families through Summer 2022

Families who received Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) food benefits will continue to receive benefits through the summer of 2022. P-EBT is a child nutrition program created during the Public Health emergency to promote increased food security for students and children who missed school or could not attend childcare due to COVID-19. Summer P-EBT benefits are estimated to provide continued food assistance for the families of approximately 400,000 school-age children, as well as 109,000 children under age six in households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This additional support will bring $200 million of federal funds into the Commonwealth. For more information, please visit: https://www.map-ebt.org/

National Updates:

FDA allows pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid COVID treatment

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it's allowing state-authorized pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer's antiviral treatment Paxlovid. Paxlovid is authorized for the treatment of "mild-to-moderate" COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients that have tested positive and are considered to be at high risk of developing severe disease. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Imn3Qq

Cambridge Updates

City of Cambridge Allocates $19.6 Million in ARPA Funds

Approximately $19.6 million of the remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds have been distributed. As a part of this $19.6 million allocation, 50% of this $19.6 million is being distributed to non-profits, which are important community partners with the City. This $9.4 million in funding for non-profits is in addition to the roughly $19 million dollars already allocated to this sector in the previous rounds of ARPA funding. $2.0 million has been allocated to support transit recommendations from the Mayor’s Task Force. Approximately $5 million has been allocated to support requests made in the areas of small business, homeless support, food insecurity, mental health, public health, arts, and job training. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Ip9pfb

Cambridge Disparity Study Info Session July 19

The City of Cambridge has engaged Griffin & Strong, P.C to conduct a Disparity Study that will review whether there are effects of past discrimination that impact the present way the City procures goods and services. The study will be used to determine whether a sheltered market program – a way of advancing equity in procurement – can be implemented in Cambridge.

Griffin & Strong, P.C. will host a Virtual Informational Meeting on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. This online session will provide an opportunity for the Cambridge community to ask questions, learn about the study, and discuss how to participate. Local business and community voices are extremely important for this Study, and everyone is encouraged to participate. Advanced registration is recommended but not required to participate. Register online at: https://bit.ly/3P6imws.

Cambridge Summer Food Program Provides Free Meals to Cambridge Youth

As of Tuesday, July 5, the Cambridge Summer Food Program is providing free breakfast, lunch and dinner meals every weekday to Cambridge children and youth ages 18 and under. The Summer Food Program, operated by the City of Cambridge Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP), aims to increase food security for Cambridge families by providing free, nutritious meals to children. Breakfast and lunch meals will be available at outdoor locations throughout the city, and Cambridge youth can join DHSP's Recreation staff for fun activities in nearby parks while meals are served. Free dinner meals will be provided at the city’s Summer Basketball League locations. Cambridge youth and children do not need to participate in the leagues to receive a dinner meal. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3I3fD4i

The City of Cambridge 9th Cycle of Participatory Budgeting

The City of Cambridge has launched the 9th cycle of Participatory Budgeting (PB) and is seeking ideas from the community on how to spend $1 million on projects to improve Cambridge. The Idea Collection phase will be open from June 1 – July 31, 2022. Winning projects from past PB cycles have included youth center upgrades, home essentials for newly housed residents, solar panels for the Main Library, laundry access in public schools, and many more. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3QM6Acc

COVID-19 Testing Information

Cambridge Appointment-Only Testing

Appointment-only testing, provided through a partnership with CIC Health, is available 7 days per week to people who live or work in Cambridge. Testing at CIC Health’s 295 Third Street location is available during the following hours:

Monday - Friday, from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday, from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Appointments can be booked online at www.cic-health.com/cambridge or assistance is available from CIC’s Customer Service Team at support@cic-health.com or by calling 877-280-2937.

PLEASE NOTE:

The City's walk-in testing sites are no longer available.

State COVID-19 Testing

To find a COVID-19 testing site in Massachusetts, visit mass.gov/GetTested.

Home PCR Tests for Adults

Lab-based PCR testing with home collection is available at no cost to all eligible Massachusetts adults. Kits are reserved for adults (18+) who live or work in a congregate setting, are experiencing symptoms, have recently been in contact with someone with COVID-19, or who have otherwise been recommended for testing. Please visit the Pixel by LabCorp for Massachusetts webpage at t.ly/vL4j for details, and to request a test kit.

MA Vaccination Updates

Vaccination Locations for Children

Children ages 6 months to 4 years old are now eligible to receive the safe, effective, and free COVID-19 vaccine. You will not be required to provide an ID or insurance to vaccinate your child. Parents with the youngest kids in this age group should first contact their family doctor for a vaccine appointment.

Pharmacies: CVS and Walgreens locations

CVS (ages 18 months and up at MinuteClinics) - https://bit.ly/3xVwH7B
Walgreens (ages 3 and up) - https://bit.ly/3OxEHTm

Mass General Brigham (for patients): Schedule an appointment through vaccines.gov or vaxfinder.mass.gov, or text your zip code to 438829; or call 1-800-232-0233. Vaccines are available through primary care appointments.
Boston Children's Hospital (for patients): Schedule an appointment through the hospital’s MyChildren’s Patient Portal or call 617-919-7102.
Atrius Health (for patients): Parents can schedule an appointment directly through MyHealth Online or call their child’s doctor’s office.
Pediatricians’ Offices: Call your child’s doctor or nurse to determine vaccine availability.
To see all Massachusetts vaccine locations and make appointments, go to vaxfinder.mass.gov or VaxAbilities.com for children with sensory and/or other accommodation needs.

Mobile Vaccination Services

You can find hours and dates for mobile vaccination clinics at t.ly/qTMc.

CHA Offering Walk-In Vaccinations

These sites are open to all Massachusetts residents age 12 and older:

Cambridge Hospital
East Cambridge Care Center
Malden Care Center

CHA is also offering "pop-up" vaccination clinics - information on hours and locations here: https://www.challiance.org/patients-visitors/covid-19-vaccine.

Cambridge Vaccination Data

The City of Cambridge has added Cambridge Vaccination Data to its COVID-19 Data Center. Data will be updated weekly. Information as of Thursday, July 7th, 2022:

Residents who have received at least 1 dose: 105,583

Fully Vaccinated Residents: 86,369

Residents with Booster: 56,348

Daily COVID-19 Vaccination Report

The Department of Public Health publishes a Daily COVID-19 Vaccine Report in addition to its Weekly COVID-19 Vaccination Report. Information as of Friday, July 8th, 2022:

Total doses administered: 15,060,386

Total booster doses administered: 3,129,238

Vaccination Appointment Resources

Resources for Booking and Getting to Your Appointment

Online: Visit vaxfinder.mass.gov/. You can also book directly with a pharmacy at cvs.com or walgreens.com.
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.”
In-Home Vaccinations: Anyone who is unable to get to a vaccine location can call the Homebound Vaccination Central Intake Line at 833-983-0485 between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday-Friday. Boosters are also available.

FAQs

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has a Frequently Asked Questions site that is continually updated as they receive new questions. You may access the FAQs here. Questions can be submitted to COVID-19-Vaccine-Plan-MA@mass.gov.

Today’s Case Count

Please note that these are only the reported cases. The actual case counts are underreported due to people using rapid tests at home.

Massachusetts

Total Cases: 1,776,091

New Cases: 1,850

Total Deaths: 19,787

New PCR Tests: 26,696

Cambridge

Total Cases: 30,602

New Cases: 46

Total Deaths: 166

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. For MIT COVID-19 information, click here.

Infant Formula Shortage Updates

FDA Developing New Framework for Continued, Expanded Access to Infant Formula Options for U.S. Parents and Caregivers

The FDA intends to consider enforcement discretion requests until the temporary shortage is addressed. The FDA’s flexibilities have enabled the agency to help dramatically increase infant formula supplies to address the shortage, while also protecting the health of infants, many of whom rely solely on infant formula during a critical period of growth and development. To date, it has resulted in a total estimated quantity of more than 400 million, 8-ounce bottles worth of formula from nine countries for children in the U.S. The enforcement discretion described in the May guidance is set to remain in effect until Nov. 14, 2022. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3nMeBAw

HHS website with Information for Families on the Formula Shortage

For information on measures being taken by the federal government to address the formula shortage and resources on locating baby formula, visit: HHS.gov/formula. You can connect with community resources as well as recommendations from physicians & clinicians.

Legislative Updates

House Passes Bill Supporting Veterans’ Services, Military Families

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed comprehensive legislation yesterday addressing the Commonwealth’s most immediate needs in the veteran community and making necessary updates to service member quality-of-life issues and acknowledgements of our military branches and individual service, including supporting military families who relocate to the Commonwealth with expedited licensure and school enrollment, creating education awareness programs and establishing the Massachusetts Medal of Fidelity.  Highlights of the legislation include:

Military spouse licensure portability: requires the Division of Occupational Licensure, the Department of Public Health, and Massachusetts Boards of Registration to accept a military spouse’s application for licensure or notify them of what criteria they were not able to meet within 30 days of the application.
Expedited military spouse teacher licenses: establishes a military spouse certificate to be issued by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner to military spouse teachers that meet certain requirements.
School enrollment for military children: allows military families to register and enroll in a school district when a service member first receives their relocation order, waiving the proof of residency requirement at the time of registration. This provision also allows military children who are transferring mid-semester to enroll in and attend one of the Commonwealth’s virtual schools.
Purple Star campus designation: establishes the Purple Star Campus Program, to be administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, to designate schools that demonstrate a commitment to students and families of service members.
In-state tuition continuity for military-connected college students: ensures that a member of the military stationed in the Commonwealth, their spouse, or their children are deemed an in-state resident after their acceptance at one of the state’s higher education institutions.
Civilian licensure and certification information: directs the Commissioner of Veterans’ Services to make information on civilian licensure and certification opportunities available to service members and veterans, and provide information on military education and skills to relevant agencies. 
Open Burn Pit Registry:
- Directs the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health (DPH), in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans’ Services and the Adjutant General of the National Guard, to develop educational materials and an informational pamphlet on the health impacts of open burn pits during overseas deployment and information on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry to be distributed to health care providers, veterans’ service offices and organizations, and service members and veterans.
- Directs the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans’ Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of DPH and the Adjutant General, to contact all members of the Armed Forces, National Guard and veterans to register for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry.
- Requires the Adjutant General to request that the periodic health assessment for National Guard members determine whether the member is eligible to participate in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry and if eligible, the member register for the Registry.
Massachusetts National Guard family education program: establishes a Massachusetts National Guard Family Education Program to allow National Guard members to transfer their unused education benefits under the National Guard Education Assistance Program to their dependents.
Slot machines at veterans’ organizations: allows the Gaming Commission to issue limited slot machine licenses to veterans’ organizations.
Founding anniversaries of U.S. Armed Forces: requires the Governor to set aside the founding date anniversaries of the U.S. Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Massachusetts National Guard.
Medal of Fidelity: establishes the Massachusetts Medal of Fidelity to be presented to the next of kin of a service member or veteran who died as a result of service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder, a service-connected condition resulting from a traumatic brain injury, or a service-connected disease, condition or injury related to exposure to harmful toxin, herbicides, agents or materials.
Deborah Sampson Memorial Commission: Establishes a commission to determine a location and create a memorial for Deborah Sampson, a Massachusetts resident who disguised herself as a man in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Funeral and burial benefits: requires funeral directors and their staffs to provide information on burial and funeral benefits for veterans.

House Passes Pandemic Policy Extensions Bill

The House also approved H4989, An Act relative to extending certain state of emergency accommodations, in order to extend or make permanent some of the measures that were put into place during the COVID-19 state of emergency. This bill:

Requires a notice to quit for nonpayment of rent to include information regarding the tenant's legal rights, applicable trial court rules or standing orders, the availability of rental assistance programs and any legal restrictions on residential evictions.
Authorizes the use of communication technology in real estate property closings by attorneys engaged in directing or managing a real property closing or taking actions in furtherance of a closing.
Permits notary publics to select a tamper-evident technology for notarial acts with electronic records in accordance with standards established by the Secretary of State. Allows tangible electronic copies to be considered equivalent to an original document as a recording under certain circumstances.
Extends the authority for remote participation for all public bodies and the authority for representative town meetings to meet by remote means, through March 31, 2023.

Recent Press

‘We’re all on high alert’: Supreme Court decision means Mass. police chiefs have less of a say in who shouldn’t get a gun

By Matt Stout, Boston Globe

“At the moment, I’m still confident that our laws will hold up and meet the intentions of the Legislature’s laws that have been passed over the last decade,” said Representative Marjorie C. Decker, a Cambridge Democrat. “Is it reasonable to worry that the Supreme Court has made it clear that things that we have held up as important bedrocks and values of Massachusetts law could be under attack? I think we’re all on high alert.”

Healey’s office and the Baker administration advised chiefs to continue enforcing other tenets of the state’s law, specifically its so-called suitability provision. That gives chiefs wide discretion to consider other factors beyond someone’s criminal record or reason for pursuing a license, such as if police have been called to their home or if they had been the subject of domestic violence incidents that didn’t result in arrests or charges.