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A bottle of OxyContin. (Toby Talbot/AP)

Mass. Hit New Overdose Peak in 2020

Opioid overdose deaths have hit a new peak in Massachusetts. Preliminary data from the state Department of Public Health (DPH) shows a 5% increase in 2020. That’s 102 more fatalities...

CommonHealth

11 mins ago

A COVID-19 safety precaution sign at a construction site in Central Square in Cambridge. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Mass. Health Boards Overwhelmed, Unready To Protect Workers

With federal regulators missing from the field and state leaders scrambling to manage the COVID-19 crisis, 351 overtaxed local boards of health are the unwitting new guardians of workplace safety....

CommonHealth

2 hours ago

A COVID-19 test swab in a vial. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

State Marks 1st Day Without A Reported COVID Death Since June

Tufts University epidemiologist Shira Doron said it means the most severe cases of COVID-19 are coming down to levels that are better than they've been since the pandemic began.

CommonHealth

7 hours ago

Olivia Edwards, left, 13, of Flourtown, Pa., gets a bandage from registered nurse Philene Moore after getting a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination at a Montgomery County, Pa. Office of Public Health vaccination clinic at the King of Prussia Mall, Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in King of Prussia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Officials Hope Vaccinating Kids 12 And Older Will Help Halt Virus Spread

Children as young as 12 can start receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine in Massachusetts on Thursday, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday, pending an expected final go ahead from federal regulators.

CommonHealth

03:457 hours ago

A woman received a COVID-19 vaccine. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Meet A Group Of Volunteers Bringing The Vaccine Into Boston Communities With Low Rates

In order to boost low vaccination rates that persist in some communities around Boston, a group of volunteer doctors, nurses and medical students is borrowing "get out the vote" techniques...

CommonHealth

05:307 hours ago

In this Feb. 11, 2021, file photo, Kizzmekia Corbett, an immunologist with the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health looks on at the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at the NIH in Bethesda, Md. (Evan Vucci/AP File)

NIH Vaccine Designer Takes Coronavirus Research To Harvard

Kizzmekia Corbett of the National Institutes of Health will take her research into next-generation vaccines for coronaviruses to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the school was set...

CommonHealth

May 11, 2021

Gov. Charlie Baker during a press conference at the State House in Boston on April 26, 2021. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Baker To Mark Vaccination Progress With Biden

Touting mobile clinics, incentives like free sports tickets and fishing licenses, and other efforts to reach people not yet vaccinated against COVID-19, a handful of governors met with President Biden...

CommonHealth

May 11, 2021

Alex Waldron, center, with her two sons Benjamin, 9, and Thomas, 11, in Maynard. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

A Pandemic Silver Lining: Fewer Kids Are Getting Sick

Numbers confirming a mild flu season for adults and kids are already out. Now, a study in the journal Academic Pediatrics shows a dramatic drop in all pediatric sick visits...

CommonHealth

04:36May 10, 2021

Pedestrians, some wearing masks out of concern for the coronavirus, while others go without masks, walk along Boston's fashionable Newbury Street, May 2, 2021.(Steven Senne/AP)

Mass. Active COVID-19 Cases At Lowest Level Since Early November

The department's estimate of active COVID-19 cases dropped to 18,746 in Sunday's report, the fewest since Nov. 5, and the seven-day average positive test rate of 1.24% stands at the...

CommonHealth

May 10, 2021

In this Dec. 14, 2020, file photo, a vial of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 sits on a table at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn. (Jessica Hill/AP File)

Pfizer Aims For Full FDA Approval Of Vaccine

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech say they’ve started a “rolling submission” of data from their studies of the two-dose vaccine, first giving the FDA data from laboratory and human testing.

CommonHealth

May 7, 2021

Registered Nurses and supporters stand in a picket line and wave to cars as they drive by outside St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts on February 24, 2021. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

St. Vincent Nurses On Strike Back At The Bargaining Table

Nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association union, are advocating for a 1:4 nurse to patient ratio on medical/surgical floors and telemetry units, increased staffing in the emergency department, and...

CommonHealth

May 7, 2021

A bottle of OxyContin. (Toby Talbot/AP)

State Sues Marketing Firm For Role In Opioid Crisis

State Attorney General Maura Healey said Publicis Health designed and deployed unfair and deceptive marketing schemes to help Purdue Pharma, a Connecticut drug maker, sell OxyContin, a powerful and addictive...

CommonHealth

May 7, 2021

Mass. Attorney General Maura Healey, right, responds to questions from reporters as U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., left, looks on during a news conference, April 1, 2021, in Boston. (Steven Senne/AP)

Healey Will Require Some AG Employees To Be Vaccinated

Attorney General Maura Healey's office confirmed Wednesday that she will require some of her staffers to get vaccinated when they return to in-person, public-facing work.

CommonHealth

May 6, 2021

Study: Massachusetts Leads In Stimulant Prescriptions

Massachusetts has the highest rate of prescriptions for stimulants among 26 representative states reviewed by a federal agency. The numbers, pulled from prescription drug monitoring programs, include medications to treat...

CommonHealth

May 5, 2021

First responders sit in the waiting area for 15 minutes before leaving to ensure they do not have any adverse reactions to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Walk-Ins Welcomed At Mass Vax Sites Starting Monday

Six of the state's mass vaccination sites will begin offering shots on a walk-up basis next Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday.

CommonHealth

May 5, 2021

From March 2020 when the state first opened a field hospital at the Worcester DCU Center, emergency Disaster Services trucks outside. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Worcester Field Hospital Demobilizing

The 220-bed field hospital was first set up last spring, then reopened in December to treat patients during a second surge of coronavirus cases. It stopped taking new patients in...

CommonHealth

May 5, 2021

The first five-dose vial
of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (The Smithsonian Institute/Northwell Health)

FDA Expected To OK Pfizer Vaccine For Ages 12 To 15 Within Week

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for youngsters ages 12 to 15 by next week, according to a federal official and a person...

CommonHealth

May 3, 2021

Bill Would Let Minors In Mass. Access HIV Prevention Meds

Massachusetts 17-year-olds can access birth control, abortion, and both testing and treatment for HIV, but they cannot access HIV prevention medication, including in cases where a doctor recommends it. A...

CommonHealth

May 3, 2021

In this file photo dated April 14, 2021, a pharmacist fills a syringe from a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in Antwerp, Belgium. (Virginia Mayo/AP FILE)

U.N. Program Inks Moderna Deal On 500M Doses, Starting In Q4

Cambridge-based biotech company Moderna will provide up to 500 million doses for the U.N.-backed program to ship coronavirus vaccines to needy people in low- and middle-income countries, but shipments won’t...

CommonHealth

May 3, 2021

The main entrance of Massachusetts General Hospital is seen, Monday, May 16, 2016, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Health Care Workers Turn To Military Techniques To Deal With Trauma

Dr. Joshua Morganstein — a member of the Air Force — believes having the same kind of "battle buddy" system the armed forces use could also help health care workers...

CommonHealth

04:45May 3, 2021