Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative Launches Website

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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.

 


Tags: BHS,   CHP,   COVID-19,   


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Pittsfield Council Sees Last ARPA Update

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It has been five years since Pittsfield received more than $40 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to offset the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2021, with Linda Tyer as mayor, Pittsfield accepted $40,602,779 in ARPA awards to be used by the end of 2026. Now, five years later, the city is looking back on everything those once-in-a-lifetime monies supported. 

Through June 30, $40,357,427 of those funds have been expended. Eighty-five projects were allocated funds, and only the Old Town Hall HVAC installation, soon to be complete, and administrative expenses remain. 

Special Projects Manager Gina Armstrong gave her last ARPA update to the City Council last week. 

"For me, this is the labor of love," she said. 

"It's been so exciting to see where we are after planning, having community engagement, community input, having our advisory council and our ARPA team just putting it all together, and now we have all these outcomes to show for the incredible investments we've been able to make."

Expenses will be completed by the end of this month, and a final report is due to the U.S. Treasury in October. Pittsfield anticipates returning about $42,000 in unspent administrative funds because ARPA is wrapping up sooner than the deadline. 

Funds were spent in five categories: $4.7 million for public health, $25.1 million for negative economic impacts, $5.9 million for infrastructure, $3.5 million for revenue replacement, and about $1 million for administration. 

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