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Gov. Charlie Baker gets his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the mass vaccination site at the Hynes Convention Center on Tuesday after becoming eligible this week. Baker is urging residents to wait their turn and not jump the line. Everyone over age 16 will be eligible April 19.

Baker: Vaccine-Eligible Community Should Find Appointments Before April 19

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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REVERE, Mass. — Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday urged Bay State residents currently eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations to find appointments before eligibility opens up to everyone 16 and older later this month.
 
"If you are over the age of 65, if you're over the age of 55, I think it would be great if you signed up, pre-registered, got an appointment to get vaccinated now that it's your turn," Baker said. "Because you are, based on all the data associated with vulnerable populations, among the most at risk when it comes to dealing with COVID.
 
"We're thrilled that we're over 80 percent with that population. We're above the national average. But that still means there are a bunch of folks who are quite elderly who haven't signed up yet. I'm sure we'll find some of them with the homebound programming we're doing. I'm sure we'll find some of them with the work we're doing in congregate care facilities.
 
"But if you're one of those older folks, I really recommend you sign up and get vaccinated."
 
To make it easier to find those appointments, Baker said the state continues to modify its online reservation system. About 1.5 million Massachusetts have used the commonwealth's registration system, and about 800,000 of those people have been contacted to book appointments, he said.
 
This week, two more regional collaboratives, including the one in Amherst and Northampton, were added to the registration system, and Baker said the state this month will be adding that function to more regional collaboratives.
 
Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito were in Revere on Wednesday to tour a vaccination site at the Oceanside Events Center and tout the administration's efforts to reach out to communities hardest hit by the pandemic.
 
Baker said that he felt fine after receiving his COVID-19 vaccination on Tuesday and pushed for everyone who can receive a vaccination to do so. He said the commonwealth has the capacity to deliver two or three times more doses per day and once again said he hopes the supply received from the federal government will soon match that capacity.
 
Baker also had a message for those who would "game the system" and get a shot before they are eligible.
 
After saying that "line jumping" has been rare throughout the commonwealth, Baker implored anyone who is tempted to cheat to instead follow the rules and wait their turn.
 
"There's a reason why we have a process here," Baker said. "And I've had people say to me, 'In a lot of other states, everyone is eligible.' Well, most of those states where everyone is eligible, we've vaccinated a greater portion of our population than they have. It's just that we've vaccinated more of what I consider the folks who are most at risk to suffer hospitalization or worse when it comes to COVID.
 
"The one thing I would say about the vaccine program is that it is a limited supply program, which is why we have the criteria in the first place. If you cut the line and you're not eligible, you're basically taking a vaccine away from somebody who probably is vulnerable and probably ought to get the vaccine before you do."

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Mount Greylock School Committee Votes Slight Increase to Proposed Assessments

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to slightly increase the assessment to the district's member towns from the figures in the draft budget presented by the administration.
 
The School Committee opted to lower the use of Mount Greylock's reserve account by $70,000 and, instead, increase by that amount the share of the fiscal year 2025 operating budget shared proportionally by Lanesborough and Williamstown taxpayers.
 
The budget prepared by the administration and presented to the School Committee at its annual public hearing on Thursday included $665,000 from the district's Excess and Deficiency account, the equivalent of a municipal free cash balance, an accrual of lower-than-anticipated expenses and higher-than-anticipated revenue in any given year.
 
That represented a 90 percent jump from the $350,000 allocated from E&D for fiscal year 2024, which ends on June 30. And, coupled with more robust use of the district's tuition revenue account (7 percent more in FY25) and School Choice revenue (3 percent more), the draw down on E&D is seen as a stopgap measure to mitigate a spike in FY25 expenses and an unsustainable budgeting strategy long term, administrators say.
 
The budget passed by the School Committee on Thursday continues to rely more heavily on reserves than in years past, but to a lesser extent than originally proposed.
 
Specifically, the budget the panel approved includes a total assessment to Williamstown of $13,775,336 (including capital and operating costs) and a total assessment to Lanesborough of $6,425,373.
 
As a percentage increase from the FY24 assessments, that translates to a 3.90 percent increase to Williamstown and a 3.38 percent increase to Lanesborough.
 
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