BHS, Berkshire Boards of Health to host Vaccine Clinic

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems and the Berkshire County Boards of Health Association are teaming up for a vaccination clinic in Williamstown in October. The clinic, to be held on Friday, Oct. 21 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Williams College Field House, is open to the public and to staff and students from Williams College.

The clinic will provide the COVID-19 Bivalent Booster, which is effective against the latest strains of the COVID-19 virus, BA.4 and BA.5, and the Flu vaccine to help prevent Influenza. In order to receive the Bivalent vaccine, you must have received the first two primary doses of either Pfizer or Moderna, or the single primary dose of Johnson & Johnson. Both Pfizer and Moderna Bivalent vaccines will be available at this clinic.

Pre-registration is required, with limited doses available, and the clinic has 400 open slots for the community. As a result, it is recommended that those interested register as soon as possible. To register, visit https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/berkshire. Please also have your COVID-19 vaccine card in hand.

Area Cyclists Gear Up for Dana-Farber Fund-Raiser

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
07:39AM / Saturday, July 18, 2026

Matthew Behnke, left, and ForzaG teammate and Living Proof rider Abraham Landau with a photo of a Pan-Mass Challenge 'Pedal Partner,' a pediatric patient paired with a rider.

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute calls its biggest fund-raiser of the year the Pan-Mass Challenge.

 

But participants know that the challenge of riding their bicycles 177 miles from Worcester to Provincetown pales in comparison to the day-to-day challenge faced by cancer survivors.

 

"Riding side-by-side, you share stories," Great Barrington's Peter Whitehead said recently. "Everyone has a story, whether it's personal themselves or a family member. There's a lot of back-and forth.

 

"And there's the Living Proof group that gathers together on Saturday afternoon at the end of the ride. All the people who have had cancer or still have cancer. People often at the end of that meeting get up to tell a story, and it's just amazing some of the things people have gone through in their fight against cancer.

 

"It's inspirational."

 

For 46 years, riders have been drawing on those inspirations to power through a two-day ride across the commonwealth and raise funds for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Since 1980, the event has raised $1.125 billion for the treatment and research center, and it accounts for 67 percent of the Jimmy Fund's annual revenue.

 

This year's ride, scheduled for Aug. 1 and 2, includes at least 17 Berkshire County residents among the 6,000 cyclists planning to complete the ride to the tip of Cape Cod.