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Massachusetts has a high vaccination rate – about 63% of residents – and lower infection rates than many other places in the country. However, cases are increasing here, with clusters in some communities, like Provincetown, where an outbreak has infected more than 800 people since the July 4 vacation.
And, on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included five counties in eastern Massachusetts among places in the United States where people, including those who have been vaccinated, should wear masks in indoor public spaces by due to an increased risk of transmission.
New data suggests that those vaccinated can spread the virus, the CDC said.
Biden is expected to announce Thursday that all civilian federal employees will need to be vaccinated or undergo regular virus testing. In New York City, where infections have increased 150% and hospitalizations have climbed 69% in the past two weeks, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that state employees should be vaccinated or tested routinely.
“It’s smart, it’s fair and it’s in everyone’s best interests,” Cuomo said at a luncheon hosted by a New York civic group.
In New England, Maine Governor Janet T. Mills said on Wednesday that her state would recommend that people wear face coverings in indoor spaces in areas at high risk for COVID-19 transmission, regardless of the condition. vaccination status. Mills’ office noted that the CDC now considers York and Piscataquis counties to have “substantial” levels of community transmission.
Baker said his administration was reviewing CDC guidelines and consulting with experts before making policy changes, but he ruled out instituting travel restrictions and appeared reluctant to reinstate statewide protocols. .
Responding to questions from reporters, Baker touted the state’s low hospitalization rates and high level of fully vaccinated people and said he would review CDC guidelines and consult with experts before deciding whether or not to reimpose a mask mandate.
Baker admitted he was considering new mask rules for schools, after the CDC this week recommended that all students, teachers, staff and visitors to K-12 schools should wear masks, regardless of their status. vaccine. Rhode Island officials said on Wednesday they would also urge anyone attending or working at a school to wear masks when the new term begins.
Dr Philip J. Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program at Boston College and a practicing pediatrician, said the American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends masking requirements in schools.
“I encourage the governor and the state Department of Education to follow the mandate of the American Academy of Pediatrics,” Landrigan said. “There is nothing wrong with doing what the American Academy of Pediatrics says. Their sole purpose is to protect the health of children.
Baker on Wednesday highlighted the state’s progress in vaccinating people – 4,339,778 fully vaccinated residents – and reducing hospitalizations, unlike in areas of the country where many are unvaccinated, the virus is rampant and some hospitals are filling up. .
“Remember, the federal government makes decisions and issues guidelines for the country. . . . Massachusetts is in a very different place from the rest of the country, ”he said. “We have the second lowest hospitalization rate for COVID in the United States. We have the second lowest hospitalization rate in weeks. We have the second highest vaccination rate.
In either case, Baker said, only neighboring Vermont is ahead of Massachusetts.
“These things go into how we make these decisions, and they should. Because vaccines work, ”he said.
Medical specialists agreed that Massachusetts is better off than much of the country, but said the situation could change quickly.
“We may not want to do a statewide mask mandate just yet, but we have to keep our ears on the ground and our eyes on the horizon,” said Dr Nahid Bhadelia, director of the Boston University Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy and Research. “If cases increase, it could affect our ability to send children back to school safely in the fall.”
Bhadelia said one of her biggest concerns is reopening large indoor venues, and she hopes the state will consider reintroducing capacity restrictions in such spaces. Massachusetts abandoned capacity limits and other pandemic restrictions when the pandemic state of emergency ended on May 29.
Landrigan said Baker is “very wise to say he evaluates things on an ongoing basis, and he has already shown that he is ready to adjust his policies to changing circumstances.”
“The situation we find ourselves in right now is kind of a mixed picture,” he said. “It’s clear that we have a very high vaccination rate in Massachusetts, and that’s good. . . . But at the same time we see the cases increasing, we had this cluster of cases in Provincetown. “
The CDC has advised that even those vaccinated should wear masks in indoor public spaces in parts of the country with at least 50 new cases per 100,000 people over the past week. This currently includes 60% of U.S. counties, officials said.
Five counties in Massachusetts are considered to have “significant and high transmission” according to CDC guidelines: Suffolk (Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop), Bristol (areas around Fall River, New Bedford, Taunton and Attleboro), Barnstable ( Cape Cod communities such as Provincetown, Falmouth, Sandwich, Dennis), Nantucket and Dukes (mainly Martha’s Vineyard).
At the tip of Cape Cod, the COVID-19 cluster in Provincetown that first emerged earlier this month swelled to 833 cases, CEO Alex Morse said on Wednesday, up 68 cases since Tuesday.
Morse said 501 of those infected live in Massachusetts and 210 are residents of Provincetown. Seven were hospitalized. The city adopted a new indoor mask mandate in an emergency meeting on Sunday.
Bhadelia warned that one of the challenges ahead for the state will be to “find those pockets of areas within the state that are not as fully vaccinated as elsewhere, and ensure that they do not become not the areas where the next cluster of cases occurs. “
In Hardwick, a town in central Mass. of about 3,300 residents, only 35% of residents were fully vaccinated as of July 22, according to the state.
“I don’t know how or why” the rate is so low, said city health worker Marcelino “Tex” Sarabia, who added that he did not necessarily agree with the tally. ‘State.
Correspondent Jasper Goodman contributed to this report. Material from Globe Wire Services was also used.
CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story imprecisely characterized Gov. Charlie Baker’s comments regarding the new CDC guidelines.
Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @jeremycfox. Sahar Fatima can be reached at [email protected] Follow her on Twitter @sara_fatima. Travis Andersen can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.
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