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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Another West Nile Virus Mosquito Found in Pittsfield

Staff reports

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has confirmed another West Nile virus-infected mosquito sample in the city. 

On Friday, Pittsfield announced there was an isolation on outer West Street near Lillybrook Road. Last week, two isolations of WNV were found at the Pittsfield-Richmond town line on Route 41 and the other at Garland Avenue.

There are currently no confirmed human cases of WNV, but residents are encouraged to take preventative actions.  According to a risk map provided by the MDPH, Pittsfield is now at moderate risk for WNV. 

WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes that carry this virus are common throughout the state and are found in urban as well as more rural areas. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection. 

Berkshire County had early virus activity; Clarksburg saw the state's first WNV mosquitoes of the season in June.  Pittsfield had a positive WNV sample later that month in a spot with repeated occurrences near the Pittsfield Cemetery. 

Pittsfield, through the Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project, continues larvicide application, conducting targeted education programs, distribution of fact sheets on WNV and on reducing exposure to mosquitoes, and treating catch basins.  

In 2021, the former City Council voted to opt out of adult mosquito control spraying. 

Earlier this month, Chris Horton, superintendent of the mosquito project, told the Board of Health that he doesn't envision the WNV positives amplifying, and the peak transmission weeks are at the end of August and early September. 

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