Mayor Tyer Cautions Residents Against Vaccine Line Jumping

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayor Linda Tyer on Tuesday voiced concern on an issue with line jumping for COVID-19 vaccinations to the City Council.

"I know you're anxious," Tyer said to the council and the general public during the Zoom meeting. "We all want to get vaccinated but there is a very specific process, especially as it relates to the timing of first and second doses. It's really important that we follow the protocols that are in place so that people who are eligible for a second dose are able to get into those appointments."

More than 200 people showed up at Saturday's second vaccination clinic at Berkshire Community College expecting to receive the first vaccination and were turned away because community members were sharing the private link for scheduling a second dose with friends and family, Tyer said.

When community members sign up for the wrong dosage, that is reportedly taking vaccination appointments from those who are eligible.

"What's happening is, understandably, because people are so eager and so anxious to get vaccinated, members of the community are sharing that link with their friends and their family," Tyer explained. "And so people are using that link to schedule a first dose, even though that isn't the intention of that link. And what that means is, for example, we had close to 200 people who tried to get a first dose on Saturday. That means, though, that there were 200 people who didn't, or couldn't get an appointment for their second dose for which they are eligible to receive."

Most doses being received in the Berkshires over the last couple weeks have been for people to receive their second shot of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. 

The BCC site aims to have clinics on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays but this depends on the vaccine allocation that is received from the state. The clinics will continue to run those three days and if the time comes when they receive a larger allocation of the vaccine, they can expand days and hours.

"I think that is something for us to be really proud of, and I think it speaks to the organization that's happened around getting vaccines available to the people of our communities," she said.

Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Honors Leaders, Volunteers

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
09:07AM / Sunday, May 24, 2026

Liana Toscanini presented the Founder's Choice Award to Smitty Pignatelli for his years of support as state representative. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires held its ninth annual nonprofit awards last week honoring the contributions of those who have helped the community in their own way.

 

The gathering at the Country Club in Pittsfield on Tuesday included the introduction of new nonprofit Executive Director Samantha Anderson, who steps in for retiring founder and director Liana Toscanini. State Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, John Barrett III and Leigh Davis attended the event.

 

Toscanini, who created NPC in 2016, was honored at the conclusion of the evening to mark her decade leading the organization. 

 

"Founders don't just lead organizations, they are the organization in the deepest sense," said NPC Board President Emily Schiavoni. "Their relationships, their instincts, their fingerprints are on everything, and when someone has poured a decade of herself into building something from the ground up, the act of stepping back is not a simple handoff, it's an act of extraordinary trust and courage that brings me to what Leanna actually built." 

 

NPC became something of a chamber of commerce for nonprofits under Toscanini's guidance, creating a hub of support for leadership and networking for the small and large nonprofits that fuel much of the activity within the Berkshires. 

 

She developed more than two dozen programs, including Get on Board, which helps connect community members with nonprofit boards, and a giving-back guide, volunteer fairs, and a resource directory.

 

Schiavoni described Toscanini as a great mentor who has had a big impact in strengthening local nonprofits.