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Needham Bank, Natick

Natick School Committee meeting: Pool testing to start on March 1

February 24, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Natick School Committee meetings are typically all-business affairs, but a little bit of glee crept in when Superintendent Anna Nolin reported the latest on pool testing during the committee’s Feb. 23rd meeting. Not only is it game on with the state program, which Natick will participate in six weeks for free, but Nolin happily let the SC know, “The Department of Education permitted 15 staffers to come to work for us” at no cost to Natick.

Natick High School
Natick High School

That means more highly qualified hands on deck, in addition to the 30 medical professionals in the community who have volunteered their time and skills for the program. Natick applied last month to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) to be considered as a pool testing community. Pooled testing from a public health perspective means combining approximately 10 – 25 respiratory swab samples into a batch (or “pool”) and then conducting a single laboratory test on the combined pool of samples to detect COVID cases. Pool testing allows labs to test more samples with fewer testing materials. If a pooled test result comes back negative, then all the samples can be presumed negative with the single test, and the individuals tested as part of that pool may stay in school. If the pooled test result comes back positive, then each of the individuals in the pool who provided a sample will need to be tested individually to determine which samples are positive.

Nolin said a concern for families that came up during community forums was that students who were in a positive pool would be removed from school and told to quarantine, even if they were not infected with COVID.

“If your child is in a positive pool, we then execute reflex testing in that group within a 15-minute time period to know who in the pool is infected. There’s no need for anybody to be out of school unless they are confirmed on that reflex test to be positive,” she said.

State staffers came to town and started on-boarding on Feb. 24, and it’s expected that the first session of pool testing will take place on Mar. 1. Those staffers will get the program rolling, while community volunteers will learn by shadowing them. When the six-week part of the program ends, Natick will go forward with volunteers and the district’s own staff.

What about returning to school full-time?

There’s no question that everyone is anxious for students to resume full-time in-person learning. That’s the Holy Grail of public school education right now.

However, Nolin noted that health conditions today are exactly as they were in the fall. “The rates of infection are now mimicking where they were when we went back to school,” she said. In addition, the CDC still recommends 6-feet distancing, so space constraints in the schools haven’t gone away. “Plus, no one is vaccinated,” she said.

Full-time, in-person learning could happen, but not immediately. By April? If teachers get vaccinated? Maybe? Well, let’s just say nobody’s willing to make any promises. Pool testing is expected to help in that kind of decision-making process by providing data-driven baseline information about the current school landscape. From there, that data will be used as a tool to make decisions about what the rest of the school year should look like.


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Filed Under: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Education, Health, Schools

Linden Square, Wellesley
London Harness, Natick Report

Live from Natick Mall vax site: Gov. Baker & friends

February 24, 2021 by Admin Leave a Comment

Gov. Charlie Baker took his pandemic road show to Natick Mall’s appointment-only mass vaccination site on Wednesday, where he gave the latest update on the state’s COVID-19 and vaccine situation.

natick mall gov baker
Gov. Baker at Natick Mall vaccination site

 

He was joined by a rep from LabCorp, the company running the vaccine site, which looks to ramp up from vaccinating 100 per day to 5,000 per day seven days a week by April. The LabCorp rep doled out kudos to Natick police and fire personnel.

From the Governor’s office:

Vaccination Appointments: Thursday, Feb. 25, around 50,000 new appointments will be added at mass vaccination locations across the Commonwealth. This includes the mass vaccination locations at Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, Springfield, Danvers, Dartmouth and Natick. Retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens will also administer over 20,000 doses next week as well.

Residents can go to www.mass.gov/COVIDvaccine tomorrow morning to find and schedule their appointments. Appointment availability is very limited due to the constrained supply of vaccine doses that the Commonwealth is receiving from the federal government. 

More: Natick health director lauds mall vaccination setup, still wishes his team could play bigger vax role


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Filed Under: COVID-19, Government, Health

Page Waterman, Wellesley

Natick Common to be site of Floral Heart Project honoring COVID-19 victims

February 23, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

On March 1, Natick Common will be one of more than 75 sites across the country displaying a large heart-shaped garland of roses in recognition of those who have lost their lives to COVID-19.

The virus has claimed more than half a million lives in the United States, and five times that around the world.

The six-foot floral monument will be laid in Natick Center at 5pm on Monday, March 1, according to Natick resident Janice Vaughn, who reached out to the Floral Heart Project to bring the initiative here. It will remain on the Common until 5pm on March 8 as a symbol of remembrance for lives lost and support for those suffering.

“Our hope is that this memorial will serve as a sign of community support and be a place for all to share a memory, a prayer, or an intention,” Vaughn says.

Vaughn says she heard about the project from a friend in NYC and that it really touched her.  “With this pandemic continuing to take lives, I feel like the stats are the news; the human tragedy at each of our doorsteps is incomprehensible – and, in the meantime, daily, people are suffering devastating loss alone and with limited, if any, family and community support,” she says.

Like others, Vaughn’s family has felt the immediate effects of COVID-19 in terms of difficulty visiting older family members and supporting younger family members dealing with the challenges of remote school.

The vaccines bring Vaughn hope, though she worries about the longterm effects of the pandemic. “I fear for all those who are grieving a loss alone, knowing their loved one died a beyond terrifying death alone.  I wonder if the repercussions of over one-half million deaths will be with us for a very long time in terms of mental health and sustained grief… That’s why I think small efforts like the Floral Heart Project are essential.”

Vaughn says the town has asked her not to encourage a big crowd on the Comon for obvious reasons, but she’s hoping people will have a chance to stop by while the display is there.

The Floral Heart Project began in New York City by artist Kristina Libby, and has been supported around the country by florists and volunteers.

Floral Heart Project


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Filed Under: COVID-19

Natick health director lauds mall vaccination setup, still wishes his team could play bigger vax role

February 23, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick Public Health Director Jim White would rather his team be doling out vaccines to locals, but he acknowledges that LabCorp’s mass vaccination site setup at Natick Mall is well done.

Speaking during this week’s Natick Board of Health meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23, White and Board members repeated their frustration at the Health Department largely being cut out of the state’s first dose vaccination plans (the local health team will still give second doses to those who got first doses in town, will be administering the vaccine to at least some 375 Natick Housing Authority property resident next week, and most likely homebound residents). Though White said he understands the Commonwealth’s Department of Public Health only has so much vaccine supply and has decided that distributing it mainly through mass vaccination sites like the one at Natick Mall, as well as via pharmacies, is its most efficient approach.

He’s still holding out hope that local health departments will get brought back into the fold if supplies increase nationally.

Natick Mall, C0VID vaccine site
Natick Mall, C0VID-19 vaccine site

 

Town officials had a walkthrough last week at the newly Natick Mall mass vaccination site, which is ramping up from 100 doses a day to thousands a day seven days a week. The site is well thought out, and the operator did take advice from the town’s police, fire, building, and health officials to make some tweaks, White said. The 80,000 sq. ft. facility has 36 vaccination stations and can hold 70 people in the queue, with separate exits and entrances.

“That’s going to be very advantageous for the Metrowest area,” he said.

The big remaining concern, though, is about the most vulnerable members of Natick and surrounding communities who will have difficulty getting to a site like that. They’re still going to be more comfortable at a more intimate clinic like the town has held for the flu, even providing transportation when needed. White also wanted to vaccinate town employees since “we’re here, they’re here.”

“We’re all a little heartbroken that [the state] took us out of it,” White said, adding that his team was in shock for a day or so after getting the word. “This is what we’ve always been trained for, this is what we do best… I guess they just thought they wanted to move the vaccinations faster. They didn’t think we could move fast enough…” White said Natick could have handled all the vaccine it could have received, and did in fact use every single dose it was granted for the seven clinics it held.

White is looking forward to vaccinating elderly and disabled residents at Natick Housing Authority’s Coolidge Gardens, his old junior high, where wide hallways will allow residents to sit outside their apartments and get their vaccines (same goes for Cedar Gardens). Vaccinations are planned for Wednesday-Friday next week.

As for Natick’s COVID-19 situation, numbers are heading in the right direction, as they are for the state, White said. Natick’s number of cases in isolation has dropped from a high of 188 to 55 to 66 over the past week.

One other note of good news: White said the department has received enough grants to cover all extra expenses throughout the pandemic, and still has grant money in the bank that had been earmarked to support vaccination clinics. “I have not spent $1 out of town funds to this point,” he said.

Coming up at the next Board of Health meeting: A very special appearance by Natick Public Schools Supt. Anna Nolin, who has pool testing on her mind.


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Filed Under: COVID-19, Government, Health

Natick Mall’s COVID-19 vaccine site has opened for business—and “Epic Fun”

February 22, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The sign above the entrance to the Natick Mall’s new COVID-19 vaccination site that opened Monday says it all: “Epic Fun.”

The sign, which actually promotes the Dave & Buster’s restaurant above, is true in a sense for vaccine recipients in that for many it’s been a tough challenge getting an appointment for a limited supply of vaccine given to the state. Hey, you’re just going to feel a little pinch.

The site at Natick Mall plans to administer 500 doses per day to start out. Vaccines will be administered by appointment only. Now eligible to receive the vaccine are Phase 1 and some Phase 2 groups, which includes people aged 65 and older; people with certain medical conditions; those in long-term care or congregate care settings; and several other groups.

Going forward, the plan is for the Natick Mall site to give out up to 3,000 doses per day, seven days a week.

We stopped by to check out the scene. All was very calm and civilized as a trickle of people walked over from the lower level of Parking Garage C, past LabCorp reps, and into the old Sears building. Those who had arrived early for their appointments waited in their cars until their time was nigh.


If you’ve received your vaccine at the mall or are working at the vaccine site and would like to share your experience, please let us know: natickreport@gmail.com


Natick Mall, C0VID vaccine site
Epic Fun: Natick Mall, COVID vaccine site.

 

Natick Mall garage, C0VID vaccine site parking
We stopped by at around 10am to check out the scene. Plenty of parking was available on the lower level of Parking Garage C. Competition for spaces is likely to increase once the mall stores open for business for the day. Most of them get going at 11am.

 

LabCorp is the vaccine provider, and can be contacted at 888-990-6066 for general event questions and if you need to cancel an appointment you have already set up. Representatives at that number will not be able to schedule appointments. That can be done online here. Or phone appointments may be made on the state’s 211 hotline.

The Natick vaccination site is is accessible, and wheelchairs will be provided on site to those who want one. There is accessible parking, an accessible drop-off and pick-up location, and staff are available to assist as needed. Masks are mandatory.

A Natick Report reader asked how to volunteer to work at the site. We believe the place to start is the state’s MA Responds site.


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Filed Under: COVID-19, Health

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