This page will be occasionally updated, as necessary, to reflect statewide or national updates relating to vaccination recommendations, legislature, and more.
Vaccination Recommendation Updates
CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) expresses their support for these recommendations, as of April 19, 2023:
- Adults 65 and older and people who are immunocompromised may receive an additional updated (bivalent) vaccine dose.
- Original (monovalent) mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for use in the U.S.
- Everyone age 6 and up should receive an updated (bivalent) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of whether they previously completed their monovalent primary series.
COVID-19 disease levels and vaccine effectiveness will continue to be monitored at a national level, with potential updates coming this fall. Stay updated here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html.
https://getvaccinatedberkshires.org/ Currently, this website is not being actively updated, but please check back periodically over the coming months as we launch information related to the new bivalent booster and more.
Legislative Updates Related to COVID-19
On March 29, 2023, Governor Healey signed into law a supplemental budget bill which, among other things, extends the temporary provisions pertaining to the Open Meeting Law to March 31, 2025. Specifically, this further extension allows public bodies to continue holding meetings remotely without a quorum of the public body physically present at a meeting location, and to provide “adequate, alternative” access to remote meetings. The language does not make any substantive changes to the Open Meeting Law other than extending the expiration date of the temporary provisions regarding remote meetings from March 31, 2023 to March 31, 2025.
On March 15, 2023, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that the state’s COVID-19 public health emergency will end on May 11, 2023, to align with the end of the federal public health emergency. The announcement this week, ahead of the 45-day notice required by state law, allows additional time for impacted organizations to prepare for the end of the public health emergency.
Governor Healey will also file legislation that would extend key flexibilities provided by the public health emergency, particularly around staffing for the health care industry and emergency medical services (EMS). The Governor also announced that on May 11 she plans to rescind Executive Order 595 that required all Executive Branch state employees to have received their primary series COVID-19 vaccines.
Other Resources:
How to protect yourself and what to do if you are sick:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Updates/resources from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-updates-and-information
Cumulative reports on Massachusetts COVID-19 cases, testing, and hospitalizations, with additional reports including nursing facility data, cases by city/town, and vaccination data:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting
Information from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency on the Federal Disaster Declaration:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-federal-disaster-declaration
Note temporary changes in the Open Meeting Law:
https://www.mass.gov/the-open-meeting-law