Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative Launches Website

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative has announced the launch of a new website containing comprehensive information on how to access the Berkshire area COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

The new site, www.getvaccinatedberkshires.org, was developed to provide a consolidated resource with information about the COVID-19 vaccines, to provide resources on the state's Vaccination Phases and vaccine availability, and to aid the public in making appointments at the three large mass vaccination clinic sites in the Berkshires.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative has established vaccination sites in Pittsfield at the Berkshire Community College Field House, in Great Barrington at the WEB Du Bois Middle School and in North Adams at St. Elizabeth of Hungary's Parish Center. Vaccine clinics are now scheduled for early February to begin vaccinations for the first part of Phase 2, which includes anyone aged 75 and older.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative estimates that there are approximately 18,000 Berkshire residents who are 75 and older, and based on the current distribution of vaccine by the State of Massachusetts, it is likely to take several weeks before completion of Phase 2-A. Clinics will be held weekly based on availability of the vaccine from the Commonwealth.

The website will be updated regularly as more clinics are scheduled throughout February and the coming months and as the state continues to move through Phase 2 and into Phase 3, which is estimated to run through the remainder of winter and into the spring.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative is a partnership between Berkshire Health Systems, Community Health Programs, the Berkshire County Boards of Health Association and public health nurses.

The website is www.getvaccinatedberkshires.org.

Pittsfield Honors Disability Pride Month

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:13AM / Saturday, July 11, 2026

Catherine Carchedi, chair of the Commission on Disabilities, speaks to how the Americans with Disabilities Act has allowed people with disabilities to function and enjoy everyday things like going to the movies. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city marked Disability Pride Month with a flag raising on Thursday, recognizing the right of every person to be seen, valued, and included exactly as they are.

Catherine Carchedi, chair of the Commission on Disabilities, pointed out that it has been 36 years since the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

"The ADA is really a civil rights movement, and I want to remind people that," she said. 

"… It's a civil rights law, and it needs to be protected, especially during these times." 

The historic legislation made it illegal to discriminate based on disability in employment, education, transportation, and public spaces. Disability Pride Month was first celebrated in 2015. 

Carchedi used the movie theater as an example of how, decades ago, she wouldn't have been able to enjoy a night out with friends who use a wheelchair or require assistive devices. 

She said they can now catch a ride to the movies with the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority because all buses now need to be accessible, and find a good place to sit in the theater with seating that meets their needs. 

Carchedi's friend with a guide dog can also go to the movies and use a visual descriptive device, and another friend who is hard of hearing can watch the movie with closed captioning or with an assistive listening device.