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The North Adams COVID-19 Testing Center is located on 98 Church St.

COVID-19 Booster Shots Available Throughout County

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — COVID-19 Booster Shots are available at Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) locations throughout the county.
 
BHS encourages all eligible residents to take advantage of the opportunity to secure the additional protection from COVID-19 that boosters provide.
 
The CDC has approved Pfizer and Moderna booster doses for individuals 65 years or older, individuals 18-64 years old who live or work in a high-risk environment, and individuals 18-64 years old who have an underlying medical condition that makes them  more vulnerable to serious infection by COVID-19. 
 
Johnson and Johnson boosters are approved for individuals 18 years or older. Additional information is available  www.berkshirehealthsystems.org/covidvax and www.cdc.gov.
 
As of Tuesday, Nov. 2, the following BHS locations are offering booster doses, as well as initial doses of the vaccines:
 
Pittsfield COVID-19 Testing Center
505 East St., Pittsfield, MA 01201
Sunday through Saturday, 8:30 am–4:00 pm
Pfizer and Moderna are available daily, J&J on Wednesdays only
 
North Adams COVID-19 Testing Center
98 Church St., North Adams, MA 01247
Monday through Friday, 8:30 am–4:00 pm
Pfizer and Moderna are available Monday through Friday; J&J is available on Wednesdays only
 
Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington
29 Lewis Ave., Great Barrington, MA 01230
Monday through Friday, 9:00 am–2:00 pm
Pfizer is available Monday through Friday; Moderna and J&J are available on Friday only
 
Boosters are available by appointment only and can be scheduled online through the Berkshire Patient Portal. Those who need assistance should call the BHS COVID-19 Hotline at 1-855-BMC-LINK (855-262-5465).

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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