Boston, MA – Today, the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) announced that it will present its highest honor, the Paul Revere Award for Lifetime Achievement, to Michael Curry, Esq. of Brockton, MA. Mr. Curry, who serves as the CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, has been a leader for several decades in the effort to eliminate health inequities in Massachusetts. Leon W Russell, Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors, will present the award to Mr. Curry at MPHA’s virtual Spring Awards Breakfast on June 4. Click here for details and registration information.
“Michael Curry’s lifelong commitment to social justice and health equity have made a tremendous difference in the lives of Massachusetts residents,” said MPHA Executive Director Carlene Pavlos. “From his efforts to pass the Massachusetts Healthcare Reform law in 2006 to his work with the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael has been unwavering in his pursuit of justice and a more equitable society.”
Michael Curry, Esq. is the CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, which represents 52 health centers, serving over 1 million patients at 314 practice sites across Massachusetts. Prior to joining the League, he served as Senior Policy Advisor for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, where he worked on the passage of the 2006 landmark Massachusetts Health Care Reform law, as well as initiatives aimed at ending health inequities.
BOSTON, MA – The Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition responded today to Governor Charlie Baker’s joint event with President Joe Biden highlighting Massachusetts’ progress on vaccination. The Coalition pointed out that although Massachusetts has made rapid progress on overall rates of vaccination, persistent racial disparities in vaccination remain and illustrate the lack of equity in the rollout process to date. The most recent data shows that while 55 percent of white residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, only 33 percent of Latinx residents, 37 percent of Black residents, and 53 percent of Asian residents have received at least one dose. This is despite the fact that communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by COVID hospitalization.
The coalition of more than 30 racial justice, immigrant justice, public health and civil rights organizations is doubling down on their calls for the Governor to meet with them, emphasizing that closing these racial disparities is essential if Massachusetts truly wants to claim to have a nation-leading vaccine program. Instead, equity has consistently been an afterthought for the Baker administration, as the Governor continues to use hesitancy as a scapegoat for inequities, rather than working in coordination with community organizations and unions to lower the barriers that exist for BIPOC and immigrant communities and workers.
“While Governor Baker is touting Massachusetts’ progress on vaccine distribution, racial disparities have persisted since the beginning of the vaccine program and remain a major concern,” said Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition Co-Chairs Dr. Atyia Martin of the Resilient 21 Coalition, Eva Millona of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, and Carlene Pavlos of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. “For months, our coalition of Black, Latinx and immigrant leaders has requested a meeting with Governor Baker and answers to basic questions about vaccine equity, such as what benchmarks the administration is using to measure its progress on closing these racial disparities. We have still not received so much as a response to our request to meet or any answers to our questions.”
BOSTON, MA – Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition Co-Chairs Dr. Atyia Martin of the Resilient 21 Coalition, Eva Millona of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and Carlene Pavlos of the Massachusetts Public Health Association issued the following statement in response to Governor Baker’s announcement that Massachusetts will close four mass vaccination sites, shift vaccine allocation to regional collaboratives in the 20 hardest-hit communities and expand mobile vaccination clinics:
“The Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition is deeply appreciative that after months of advocacy from Black and Latinx community leaders, the Baker administration has decided to wind down operations at several mass vaccination sites and bolster community based and mobile vaccination sites, with an emphasis on the 20 hardest hit communities. This is a critical step towards expanding vaccine access by shifting focus away from mass sites that were challenging for some to get to and instead bringing doses directly to where people already are.
“While we recognize the improvements the Baker administration has made in recent weeks and their hard work, we still need to hear more about how they will measure the impact of this shift, particularly when it comes to measuring Massachusetts’ progress on closing the racial gaps in vaccine distribution that have persisted since the beginning of the vaccine program. As of April 29, white residents in Massachusetts have received 14.7 times more doses than Black residents, 10 times more doses than Latinx residents, and 10.8 times more doses than Asian residents. Put another way, 52% of white residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine compared to 34% of Black residents, 48% of Asian residents and 30% of Latinx residents. These statistics mirror the inequities we have seen for months. “Since February, our coalition has asked the Baker administration to set clear benchmarks to ensure that vaccine distribution is mirroring the proportion of hospitalizations experienced by each racial group, but we still have not received an answer. We urge Governor Baker to accept our request for a meeting to discuss these benchmarks and how to remove the barriers that community organizations continue to face on the ground as they try to distribute vaccines.”
Click here to read the February 19 Newsletter
In this issue:
BOSTON, MA – In response to the nationwide pause on distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition Co-Chairs Dr. Atyia Martin of the Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition, Eva Millona of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, and Carlene Pavlos of the Massachusetts Public Health Association issued the following statement:
“While it is disappointing that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is paused out of an abundance of caution, we are grateful for federal health officials’ transparency and believe it is demonstrative of their commitment to earning the public’s trust for all approved vaccines. However, while they study the potential for this extremely rare but serious side effect, it is essential that the Baker administration ensures that the hardest hit communities in Massachusetts are not shortchanged on their vaccine dose allocation. While we know that mass vaccination sites will not be impacted, we are deeply concerned that the programs that are reaching our BIPOC and immigrant communities will be impacted – particularly community health centers, mobile clinics and homebound programs.
“As such, the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition is urging the Baker administration to follow through on their initial commitment to allocate an extra 20% of doses to the 20 hardest hit communities, while factoring in the change to the Johnson & Johnson supply. While these communities represent 35% of the state’s population, they represent 45% of the state’s COVID-19 cases. We cannot lose one day of full capacity vaccine allocation in these communities.”
Boston, MA – Today, the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) called on Governor Baker to take action in light of the rising rates of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in the Commonwealth. On March 18, the organization and 28 other members of the Task Force on Coronavirus & Equity sent Governor Charlie Baker an open letter, urging him to maintain indoor capacity limits in order to curb the rising rates of COVID- 19 infection and hospitalization in Massachusetts. They have received no response.
“It has been a little more than a month since Governor Baker increased restaurant capacity to 100% and reopened many other indoor venues,” said MPHA Executive Director Carlene Pavlos. “Since then, we have seen a steady increase in the infection rate in Massachusetts. Now, we are seeing the next predictable outcome – an increase in the rate of hospitalizations.”
Between March 1 and April 1, daily COVID cases increased from an average of 1,446 to 2,014, an increase of almost 40 percent. Yesterday, there were 2,292 new confirmed cases.
The hospitalization rate declined in the first few weeks of March. On March 22, it reached the lowest point of the month, when the seven day average of people hospitalized in Massachusetts was 599.4. Since then, it has risen steadily. On April 6, the seven day average of people hospitalized in Massachusetts was 713, an increase of nearly 20 percent. Yesterday, there were 755 people hospitalized for COVID-19.
“Yesterday, Massachusetts passed a tragic milestone, with more than 17,000 residents dead from COVID-19. Due to premature reopening policies, our residents must brace for yet more,” continued Pavlos. “Things are not back to normal, and we urge the Governor to once again implement public health measures that reflect that reality.”
Governor Baker’s decision to lift many indoor restrictions in Massachusetts has coincided with the arrival and spread of more infectious variants of COVID-19, including the B.1.17 variant (first identified in the United Kingdom), the B.1.351 variant (first identified in South Africa) and the P.1 variant (first identified in Brazil). B.1.17 is now the most common variant in Massachusetts, and it is approximately 70 percent more transmissible and 60 percent more deadly.
BOSTON, MA – Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition Co-Chairs Dr. Atyia Martin of the Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition, Eva Millona of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, and Carlene Pavlos of the Massachusetts Public Health Association today issued the following statement in response to Governor Baker’s announcement that Massachusetts will be receiving an additional 100,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in the next week.
“The additional supply of 100,000 Johnson & Johnson doses is a major, positive development for Massachusetts’ vaccine rollout that will help increase access to these lifesaving shots. However, we urge the Governor to center equity in his allocation of the doses. Governor Baker should use this as an opportunity to follow through on his previous commitments and allocate at least 20% of these doses to Massachusetts’ hardest hit communities. Since the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one shot, these doses will be particularly impactful for people in our communities who have limited mobility or are homebound – particularly BIPOC and immigrant residents that have been vaccinated at lower rates than white residents.
BOSTON, MA – Eleven days ago, 29 members of the Task Force on Coronavirus & Equity, including the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA), issued an open letter to Governor Baker, urging him to delay increasing indoor capacity limits as part of his reopening plan. Now, infection rates are rising across the state, the number of high risk “red” communities is steadily increasing, and Massachusetts is making national headlines for its resurgence.
“The Governor must act to reduce indoor capacity limits on restaurants, exhibition and convention halls, theaters, museums and other indoor venues,” said MPHA Executive Director Carlene Pavlos. “Action must be swift if we are to prevent another wave of infections – and the hospitalizations and deaths that will follow.”
“Governor Baker has said repeatedly that he is following the science, yet he is now disregarding the most up-to-date guidance from the CDC, which strongly recommends that states keep mitigation measures in place until a greater share of the population is vaccinated,” continued Pavlos. “If the Governor asserts that he is listening to public health experts, he should be transparent and name his advisors. The people being put at risk by his actions deserve to know whose guidance is driving these decisions.”
The lifting of many indoor restrictions in Massachusetts comes at the same time that more infectious variants of COVID-19, including the B.1.17 variant (first identified in the United Kingdom) and the B.1.351 variant (first identified in South Africa) are spreading across the state. The challenge created by these variants has recently caused several European countries to resort to lockdowns once again.
BOSTON, MA – Today, 32 racial justice, immigrant justice, civil rights and public health organizations that make up the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition sent a letter to Governor Baker requesting an urgent meeting on vaccine equity in Massachusetts. The letter comes more than a month after the Coalition first issued a set of five demands to the Governor to ensure an equitable vaccine rollout. The Coalition would like to discuss the Governor’s progress on meeting their goals and ways to address the significant inequities in the state’s vaccine distribution plan, particularly for Black, Latinx, Asian and immigrant residents.
“It’s been more than a month since Black, Latinx, Asian and immigrant leaders of the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition issued five demands to Governor Baker to ensure an equitable vaccine rollout in Massachusetts,” said Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition Co-Chairs Dr. Atyia Martin of the Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition, Eva Millona of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, and Carlene Pavlos of the Massachusetts Public Health Association.
“While we appreciate the progress that the Governor has made, particularly the additional investments in his Vaccine Equity Initiative, our Coalition still has outstanding questions and concerns. The fact of the matter is that despite the Governor’s rhetoric and efforts, vaccine access in Massachusetts remains deeply inequitable along racial lines, particularly in the communities that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. We cannot wait another day for answers from the Baker administration, as people continue to lose their lives each and every day. We urge Governor Baker to meet with the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition immediately to strategize on how we can close these gaps.”
BOSTON, MA – One day before Governor Charlie Baker and members of his administration will appear before a joint oversight hearing on COVID-19 vaccination distribution, the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition is calling for answers to key questions about equity. The coalition of Black, Latinx and immigrant leaders has been encouraged by new investments in the state’s Vaccine Equity Initiative, but emphasizes that more information is needed about how the administration will work with community organizations to close persistent racial gaps in the state’s vaccine rollout.
“Governor Baker recently demonstrated that he is listening to the concerns of our coalition of Black, Latinx and immigrant leaders when he announced an additional $27.4 million in federal funding for his administration’s Vaccine Equity Initiative,” said Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition Co-Chairs Dr. Atyia Martin of the Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition, Eva Millona of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, and Carlene Pavlos of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. “While this is great progress, there are still questions that need to be answered to ensure that the necessary doses and resources are making their way to the communities that have been most impacted by COVID-19 and the trusted organizations that serve those communities. We look forward to hearing more from Governor Baker and members of his administration at tomorrow’s oversight hearing about the progress they have made and the plans they have in place to meet the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition’s five demands.”
Massachusetts Public Health Alliance
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