Natick readies 2 free flu clinics

September 23, 2021 by Admin Leave a Comment

Natick’s Health Department is encouraging residents to get vaccinated against the flu by offering 2 free clinics in October. Here’s how to schedule an appointment:

50-plus clinic: Oct. 13

Those 50-plus can sign up for the Oct. 13 clinic, which runs from 9am-2pm at Natick Community Senior Center at 117 East Central St.

Regular and high dose flu shots will be available (high dose while supplies last).

Masks are mandatory, and it’s a good idea to wear short sleeves.

If you need help making an appointment, call the Community Senior Center at 508-647-6540 option 6 or Call the Natick Health Department at 508-647-6460.

6 months-plus drive-through clinic: Oct. 23

This is a drive-thru clinic to take place Oct. 23 from 8am-2pm at the DPW at 75 West St.

Regular and high dose flu shots will be available (high dose while supplies last).

Masks are mandatory, and it’s a good idea to wear short sleeves.

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Natick formally recognizes retiring public health director

September 20, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick Public Health Director Jim White’s longer than expected goodbye will end on Sept. 30, when he officially retires. Born and raised in Natick, White devoted his entire career over 40-plus years to the town, which named him to his current position in 2009.

He had planned to be doing this in March, but when the pandemic hit he felt compelled to stick around and help the town cope with COVID-19. Like other local health directors, he wished the state had allowed his team to play an even bigger role, including with vaccination clinics.

Due to the pandemic, White didn’t get his due during the canceled July 4th parade in Natick, but he was named grand marshal for the replacement house decorating contest. We spied him, masked up, roaming the streets during the recent Natick Days festival.

On Monday, the Select Board s issuing a proclamation (embedded below) touting White’s contributions to the town.

The proclamation reads in part: “throughout his forty-one years of service to the Town of Natick, Jim has always adhered to the highest standards of ethics, and represented the Town with the utmost integrity and professionalism; and WHEREAS, as Director of Public Health, Jim has been supported by a dedicated team of public health professionals, for whom he always expresses gratitude and admiration, and with whom he always shares credit for the important work and countless accomplishments of the Public Health Department…”

Download (PDF, 129KB)

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Natick COVID-19 update: Young residents push overall vax rate higher

September 14, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The share of Natick’s eligible population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 has surpassed 87%, bolstered by rising vaccination rates among the youngest eligible residents, according to weekly data released by the state. The percentage of 12-15-year-olds vaccinated has risen from 80% to 84% over the past few weeks, while more than 95% of 16-19-year-olds in Natick have been fully vaxxed.

Now 75% of Natick’s population has been fully vaccinated, but that includes those under the age of 12 who are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations.

More than 27,000 of about 31,000 Natick residents eligible for the vaccine have now been fully inoculated, and the state has surpassed 4.5 million fully vaccinated against the disease. About 500 Natick residents have joined the ranks of fully vaccinated over the past few weeks.

Natick has instituted a face covering mandate for those working at and visiting town buildings.

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Purple and red flags bring awareness in Natick to opioid epidemic

September 10, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

If you’ve driven through Natick Center lately, you can’t miss them. Thousands of purple and red flags flap in the breeze, placed by volunteers on the lawn of the First Congregational Church earlier this month to honor the 2,104 lives lost to opioids in Massachusetts in 2021. Sadly, that number has not significantly budged from last year’s Massachusetts Department of Public Health tally of 2,015.

First Church Natick, opioid installation — First Church Natick, purple flag display.

The purple flags represent the number of Massachusetts residents who lost their life the prior year from an overdose. The red flags represent lives lost in any year to substance use and are meant to be personalized by those affected by opioid-related tragedy.

Although all the purple flags have already been placed, community members are encouraged to take a red flag from the available bin, personalize it with one of the black sharpies, also available in the bin, and place the flag with the others. Not comfortable with a public display of emotions that might come forward during this process? Take a red flag with you, personalize it at home, and bring it back later to add to the display.

The installation is sponsored by SOAR (Supporting Outreach and Addiction Recover) Natick. In addition to what has become an annual display, the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization awards grants to individuals working on their recovery; presents scholarships to graduating Natick High School seniors whose lives have been personally impacted by Substance Use Disorder and/or who plan to pursue the education, prevention, and treatment of addiction or a related field; presents community forums to share information on topics such as the new Metrowest “Rise On” Mobile Health Van; and more.

The flags are on the move as of Sept. 11 to a couple of hospitals, then to Natick High School.

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Natick 180 invites you to learn about Mobile Health Van

September 7, 2021 by Admin Leave a Comment

Natick 180 is hosting an online community forum on on Sept. 9 from 7-8:30pm to share information about a new mobile health resource in MetroWest called the Rise On Mobile Health Van.

The van is equipped to provide basic health services such as COVID-19 vaccination clinics, connection to treatment for substance use and/or mental health, referrals for social services, health screenings and testing for sexually transmitted infections such as HIV and Hepatitis C, and harm reduction services such as overdose prevention training, naloxone (Narcan) distribution, and a syringe service program.

You can download an app to track van’s location and request services.

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