Month: January 2021

CBS Boston –  Starting next week, free COVID testing will be available for child care providers in Massachusetts. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito announced that the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is launching the pilot program for providers, staff and families. Eight rotating drive-thru sites will offer PCR testing in Athol, Braintree, Billerica, Dalton, Franklin, Plymouth, Sturbridge,…

Wall Street Journal – The Federal Reserve acknowledged the economy has softened in recent weeks but kept policy on hold while it watches the effects of a COVID-19 vaccine rollout on business activity and hiring. The Fed has set short-term interest rates near zero, launched a bond-purchase program of $120 billion a month, and said it…

NBC Boston – The development of several vaccines for COVID-19 brought hope that the pandemic could be under control sooner. But fewer people are getting inoculated and there is no national plan to distribute the vaccine. Massachusetts has fallen behind every other New England state in vaccinations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Somerville Mayor…

WBUR – “Thankfully, it is now beginning to plateau and the cases are starting to come down a bit, but they’re still in a zone that’s very troublesome. I mean, where you’re having a couple of hundred thousand or between one and two hundred thousand new cases a day, which will always lead to hospitalizations and deaths.…

Boston Business Journal – Massachusetts remains in a strong position despite the pandemic, Gov. Charlie Baker said in his State of the Commonwealth address Tuesday night, while he acknowledged that offices and business districts that look much different than they did before Covid-19. Like so much else this past year, the governor’s annual speech looked a lot different.…

Boston Business Journal – Small-business owners facing mounting costs from operating throughout a global pandemic can tap their Paycheck Protection Program loans to pay for a host of COVID-19-related renovations, upgrades and costs. The change in the forgivable loan program came as part of the stimulus bill signed into law in December and added a host…

CNBC – The Biden administration is working to purchase an additional 200 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, a move that could provide enough doses for nearly every American to get fully inoculated by the end of the summer, President Joe Biden said Tuesday. The government is seeking 100 million doses from Pfizer and 100 million from Moderna, an order…

Companies offering COVID-19 testing have been added to the AIM Marketplace page listing member companies that provide pandemic-related products and services. More than two dozen Massachusetts companies have stepped forward to say they can meet the need of fellow employers for protective gear, cleaning services and hand sanitizer. VISIT THE PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT/RE-OPENING SERVICES PAGEAdd My…

State House News – Eyeing the state’s post-pandemic future, Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday proposed a $45.6 billion state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 that he said would make key investments and support the ongoing public health response to COVID-19, but would actually cut total state spending. The proposed fiscal year 2022…