Teacher shortages and the National Guard

47:59

January 27, 2022

This is the Radio Boston rundown for Jan. 27. Tiziana Dearing is our host.

Districts across the Commonwealth are struggling to find people to staff classrooms thanks to COVID-related absences. It's gotten so bad in some districts, that superintendents and principals are stepping up to fill the void. We take your calls and hear more about the shortages with WBUR Education Reporter Carrie Jung, and Michael Thomas, the superintendent of Brockton Public Schools.
As hospitals were slammed with COVID cases last month, Governor Charlie Baker activated 500 National Guard members to enter healthcare systems and lend a hand. He added 500 more just this month in the midst of the omicron surge. It would mark the 14th activation of the Guard since March 2020. We hear more about the Guard's role in helping the Commonwealth from National Guard members Major Vincent Mullen and Lt. Colonel Geoff Love.
Vaccine and booster hesitancy among pregnant people remain high. We learn more about a new training initiative designed to help medical professionals discuss the COVID vaccine with pregnant patients and take your calls on the topic with Daniel Mullin, a clinical psychologist, and director of the Center for Integrated Primary Care at UMass, and Dr. Stacy Potts, a physician specializing in family medicine with obstetrics. Both are also associate professors of family medicine and community health, also at the UMass Chan Medical School.

This program aired on January 27, 2022.