COVID-19 Vaccinations Now Available for Young Children

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BOSTON — The state on Sunday announced that Massachusetts children ages 6 months to 4 years old are now eligible to receive the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
 
The Pfizer vaccine consists of three pediatric doses and the Moderna vaccine consists of two pediatric doses. Appointments will be available for booking beginning Tuesday, June 21, with additional locations and appointments expected to come online in the following days. Vaccines are already available to those 5 years and older.  
 
The Baker-Polito administration expects there to be more than 400 locations for children to receive a vaccine in the coming weeks.
 
"We know parents and families have been waiting for this, and we are pleased to have this last age group approved for the COVID-19 vaccine," said Dr. Estevan Garcia, a pediatrician, and chief medical officer at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. "The vaccine for this age group has been rigorously tested and we encourage parents to add this vaccine to the list of critical vaccinations their children should receive. We urge parents to reach out to their child's health-care provider with any questions they may have."
 
The COVID-19 vaccine has shown to be safe, effective, and protective against serious illness or death, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Controls. The administration is committed to ensuring families have convenient access to free, safe, and effective vaccines. Children 6 months and older may receive a vaccination at locations such as their pediatricians' offices, community health centers, state-supported vaccination sites, mobile clinics and some pharmacy settings depending on the pharmacy and the child's age. 
 
Vaccinations for adults have been available for more than a year and for children ages 5 to 11 since last November. Nearly 15 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state since they became available in late 2020; about 61 percent of children in Berkshire County between ages 5 and 11 have received at least one dose.
 
Massachusetts is a national leader in vaccination rates with over 84 percent of eligible residents fully vaccinated and over half of adults boosted.
 
How to find a pediatric COVID-19 vaccination appointment:
  • Call your health-care provider's office directly.
  • Visit vaxfinder.mass.gov for a list of locations.
  • Call the COVID-19 Vaccine Resource Line at 2-1-1 (Monday through Friday from 8:30-6; Saturday and Sunday 9-2); English and Spanish and translators available in approximately 100 languages.
The vaccine is free, and you do not need insurance or an ID to be vaccinated. Additional information on the COVID-19 vaccination, including FAQs, can be found here: mass.gov/COVIDvaccine.

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Main & Mill: A Vibrant New Restaurant on Main Street

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can now enjoy another eatery on Main Street by well-known restaurant siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor.

Their restaurant Main & Mill opened for the first time Tuesday, bringing their vision of creating something vibrant and new to downtown North Adams.

"We have created Main & Mill to be part of our day. It's very seasonal ingredients, thoughtful cooking, beauty, beautiful presentation and dishes. And we really wanted to be part of the community, the downtown area, and start a vibrant area on this end, which has been shuttered for a while," said Colleen.

The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent.

The bank closed in early 2021 and was purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar. 

Colleen saw potential and said she initially wanted the building when it first went up for sale. Being good friends with Rothstein and Perry, she helped them design the kitchen and the bar before learning in March that she could lease it as a restaurant space, something she told them would be a great idea.

She said one of the most important things about the restaurant was the collaboration between Rothstein, Perry, and the Wadsworths, who put a lot of time and energy into the building.

"If Sean and I had done it, we would not be able to do what the collaboration supported. The collaboration of the three of us being able to really have that kind of money to put in down here. The design that the architecture firm that Carla and Sal own is stunning," she said. "The time and effort, everyone came together to do this in a really trusting manner."

The two wanted the restaurant to be an all-day venture, so people could eat at any point throughout the day, all week long.

"We wanted it to be open for coffee and socialization in the morning where people can meet, have their cup of coffee, have a quiche, a vegetarian quiche, or croissant or yogurt. Something intentional with their coffee," she said. "Then move into a lunchtime for the downtown business or anybody, and then go into supper, dinner, with drinks later into the evening. So have it really be open all day long, so that there wasn't a void on any particular day."

They also wanted to do something different than the other restaurants they owned.

"We didn't want to mimic any other restaurant in town. We wanted to bring something that was inspiring, something that had some familiar things that people would see, and other things that we would bring to them for them to experience," she said.

As a woman business owner, Colleen said she wanted to bring a female chef into the kitchen. 

Colleen brought on Chef Anna DeRose, who she said puts twists on a lot of her dishes.

"So we have a creme brulee, but our creme brulee is topped with marshmallow," she said. "Our creme brulee is like almost two desserts in one. It's a s'mores creme brulee. So you could have a s'mores, and you could have a creme brulee - but when you put both of them together, fireworks go off."

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