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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Zebra Mussels Found in Pittsfield's Onota Lake

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city will treat one acre of Onota Lake for zebra mussels. 

On Wednesday, during a special virtual meeting, the Conservation Commission approved a series of three treatments with EarthTec QZ. During dive monitoring in August, a live adult zebra mussel was found near the boat ramp. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath said it will begin in the next 7-10 days, and that this treatment is nearly identical to that in the fall of 2024, as approved by the ConCom and other entities. 

EarthTec QZ, an EPA-registered liquid molluscicide, will be applied to a 1-acre section from a boat with GPS guidance, about 14 days apart. There will be signs and notices of treatments to alert the public. 

Karen Murray, of the Lake Onota Preservation Association, explained that the area is from the rocky point north of the boat launch to the boat launch, and a little south of the fishing pier. 

"Again, does that mean we have live zebra mussels? We don't know, but it's pretty strong evidence of a potential problem," she said. 

Over the last few years, Pittsfield has grappled with occasional findings of the invasive species.

Pittsfield and LOPA embarked on an early detection process at Onota Lake in the fall of 2023; the state Department of Conservation and Recreation had found the area near the boat launch positive for zebra mussel eDNA. 

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