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.

New Pittsfield Shop Offers Nontoxic Scented Candles & Cozy Decor

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:02AM / Monday, November 09, 2026

Holmes Candle Co. is located at 210 Elm St. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Alyssa Sena loves scented candles. But she found lighting them in her home was aggravating her asthma. 

 

So she set to work to find a healthier option for herself, and her home. 

 

"I realized how bad they are for you and the paraffin and how harmful it is to your lungs, and I have asthma, and I've always had issues with that," she said. "And apparently, the candles were contributing to it, which I didn't know. So I kind of started test playing around with the idea of making my own."

 

Sena has been making candles from home for about two years, trying out recipes and wicks that would also not leave sooty residue on walls and cabinets. 

 

The result is the newly opened Holmes Candle Co., named after the street she lives on. It sells hand-poured, 100 percent soy candles that Sena described as paraben- and phthalate-free. Other products include wax melts, car air fresheners, room and linen sprays, perfumes, and home décor.

 

Sena said she taught herself to make candles by testing different ratios.

 

"I researched and tested for probably a year and a half to two years before I launched. Because it's as weird as it sounds. I feel like people think you just buy some wax, dump some oil in it, put it in a jar, call it a day," Sena said. "But there's actually a science behind it.