January 25th COVID-19 Update

Today, the Baker administration announced critical updates to the priority list and phasing of the Massachusetts COVID-19 vaccine distribution program. Most notably, individuals over the age of 75 are now the first priority to receive the vaccine in Phase 2 and that Phase 2 will begin Monday, February 1st.

As of this week, Massachusetts plans to have 103 publicly available vaccination sites. Between these sites and other vaccination clinic sites (e.g. congregate care, health systems), the Commonwealth currently has the capacity to administer 242,000 doses of vaccine per week. By mid-February, the Commonwealth expects to have 165 publicly-available vaccination sites operating statewide. You can find a list of all publicly-available vaccination sites at mass.gov/covidvaccinemap.

All Phase 1 individuals are currently eligible for vaccination, and the priority list for Phase 2 has been updated to reflect CDC best practices and is now as follows:

1. Individuals 75+
2. Individuals 65+ or with 2+ comorbidities
3. Early education and K-12 workers, transit, utility, food and agriculture, sanitation, public works, and public health workers
4. Individuals with one comorbidity

More information on the COVID-19 vaccine, including an updated schedule for phased distribution and frequently asked questions, can be found at mass.gov/covidvaccine. Questions related to the COVID-19 vaccine can also be emailed to COVID-19-Vaccine-Plan-MA@mass.gov.

As a reminder, this COVID-19 newsletter is now released on a weekly basis. We will continue providing up-to-date daily, weekly, and aggregate data in these newsletters, but if you do want to be sure to follow the COVID-19 numbers on a day-by-day basis, the DPH daily dashboard from which we compile our data can be found here.

News Updates

Below is a summary of the most recent efforts to respond to the wide range of needs in our communities. For a summary of previously issued guidance and state restrictions related to the coronavirus epidemic, visit mass.gov/covid19. For previous updates visit carolyndykema.com/covid19.

Coronavirus Testing and Response

• Today, the state saw 3,477 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth, with 479,402 total cases and 45 reported deaths as of today at 4pm.
• The average new cases over the last 7 days is 3,981, and the average number of deaths is 66.
• The 7-day weighted average positive test rate in Massachusetts is 4.8%.
• 78,650 new molecular tests for COVID-19 were reported in the Commonwealth today.
• The Department of Public Health regularly releases a daily reporting dashboard containing detailed information on hospitalizations, demographic data, and county-by-county breakdowns of cases. To view the DPH dashboard, visit here.

Heath Care (as of 1/25)

• Hospitalization: 1,955 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, an increase of 9 from yesterday. The 7-day average of hospitalizations is 2,090.
• Hospital Capacity: 15% of the Commonwealth’s non-ICU hospital beds are available for new patients if needed (21% of statewide ICU beds are available). In the MetroWest region, 14% of the region’s non-ICU beds are available for new patients (20% of regional ICU beds are available).
• Long-term care: There are 420 long-term care facilities with at least one case of COVID-19 and 33,476 staff and residents in facilities who have tested positive for COVID-19. 7,932 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in long-term care facilities.
• For information on COVID-19 testing and guidance on whether you should get tested, how to get tested, and where to get tested, visit the COVID-19 testing portal at mass.gov/gettested.

Vaccine Distribution

• Last week, 86,230 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered. To date, 359,919 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in MA.
• Last week, 52,225 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were shipped to Massachusetts. To date, 591,775 doses have been shipped to MA.
• For more information, you can review the weekly COVID-19 vaccine report on this page.

Local Update

• This week’s public health report contains town-by-town numbers on positive cases in each community, as well as a color-coded risk assessment for each city or town. This week’s numbers for the towns of the 8th Middlesex District can be found below, and the full weekly public health report can be found here.
• Holliston: 536 (+41 from last week); higher risk
• Hopkinton: 542 (+35); moderate risk
• Southborough: 327 (+13); higher risk
• Westborough: 1,071 (+64); moderate risk

Education

• The interactive data dashboard now contains weekly information on testing and positive cases in Massachusetts-based colleges and universities, which can be found here.
• 513 new COVID-19 cases associated with higher education testing were reported last week. 7,942 total cases have been reported associated with higher education testing.
• The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education now reports student and staff positive cases reported by school districts within the last week. These reports count all positive cases among students participating in-person or hybrid learning models, and staff who have been in a school building within 7 days of a positive test. Last week’s report and reporting definitions can be found here.
• Holliston: 4 students, 1 staff
• Hopkinton: 0 students, 0 staff
• Southborough: 1 student, 1 staff
• Northboro-Southboro: 0 students, 3 staff
• Westborough: 0 students, 0 staff

Travel

• The state’s COVID-19 travel order, which requires testing or self-quarantine for all visitors and returning residents from all higher-risk U.S. states, is updated weekly based on new public health data from around the country. Information on the order can be found here and information on changes to the state risk designations can be found below.
• Lower-risk states: Hawaii
• Removed last week: None
• Added last week: None

Local and State Resources

Town Resources

All of the towns in the 8th Middlesex District have centralized COVID-19 resource pages with resources, updates, and alerts regarding town services.

Holliston | Hopkinton | Southborough | Westborough

Job/Income Loss Resources

COVID-19 is also causing broad disruption to the economy which is affecting incomes of many residents and families. There are a number of State resources and supports available to support workers who may find themselves unemployed or otherwise income-constrained during this uncertain time. 

Guide for job/income loss resources: https://carolyndykema.com/covid19-state-resources

Department of Unemployment Assistance

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
• CARES Act Unemployment Changes
• Unemployment Town Halls

Department of Transitional Assistance

• Pandemic-EBT benefits for schoolchildren

Statewide Information

Information on the state of emergency and related orders can be found here.

• Face covering advisory
• Large gatherings/social distancing advisory

Reopening guidance can be found at mass.gov/reopening. 

• Sector-specific guidance
• Health care-specific guidance
• “When can my business reopen” chart

Information on COVID-19 testing can be found at mass.gov/gettested.