The announcement through the Executive Office of Health and Human Services on Wednesday follows a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases among vaccinated individuals, including breakthrough infections at a local nursing home in North Adams. The infections are suspected to be of the novel coronavirus's Delta variant, which is highly transmissible even among vaccinated individuals.
According to the Baker-Polito administration, fewer than three-quarters of the staff in 155 of the state's skilled nursing facilities were vaccinated.
The mandate affects all 378 skilled nursing facilities as well as the two Soldiers' Homes to ensure all personnel are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. A Public Health Order will be issued for non-state operated skilled nursing facilities and emergency regulations will be filed for the two state-operated Soldiers' Homes.
Personnel includes all individuals employed directly or by contract by the nursing home. All unvaccinated personnel are to receive a first dose of a two-dose series by Sept. 1 and be fully vaccinated by Oct. 10. To ensure compliance, beginning Oct. 10, the Department of Public Health will enforce this mandate for provider-operated skilled nursing homes.
DPH will have the authority to stop admissions at nursing home with fewer than 75 percent of personnel vaccinated until the facility reaches that percentage.
The requirement will provide exemptions for those with medical restrictions or sincerely held religious beliefs that prevent them from receiving vaccination.
North Adams Commons now reports 41 residents and six personnel being COVID-19 positive, with majority being vaccinated. It has stopped all visitation as residents quarantine. Six residents have been hospitalized but the majority reportedly are showing no symptoms. A nursing home spokesperson last week said the vaccination rate for staff was about 67, on par with the rate for the Berkshires overall.
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Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.
More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.
Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.
One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly.
"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."
Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.
Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.
One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly.
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