skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Educators, Firefighters: Speed Up Teacher Vaccinations Now

play audio
Play

Monday, February 15, 2021   

BOSTON -- Teachers unions, along with firefighters and other labor unions, have asked the state to support a pilot program to rapidly vaccinate all school employees in ten to 20 high-need districts in the next month.

They also asked for higher education staff to be added to phase two of the vaccine rollout. While K-through-12 educators are in phase two, higher ed faculty are in phase three.

Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, noted Massachusetts doesn't yet have a state-approved plan for how and when to vaccinate school employees.

"Our most precious resource in society are our young people," Najimy asserted. "And society has to take care of the people who are taking care of young people. And so far, more than half the states in the nation have already begun vaccinating educators."

Najimy contended the plan would take the burden off of state and municipal leaders.

Mascon Medical, an infection control business, would take care of the infrastructure and logistics; firefighters, EMTs and nurses would administer the vaccine; and unions would line up school employees to receive it.

Najimy alleged school employees have in many cases been working in unsafe conditions, and argued making sure the vaccination rollout is rapid and thorough would not only benefit educators, but students, their families and communities as well.

She hopes it will serve as a model for other communities.

"If it works in one place, it's the kind of thing that we can scale up and use this as the distribution model to get vaccines to all school employees," Najimy suggested.

She added the one missing partner is the Commonwealth itself. She urged Gov. Charlie Baker to get on board and allow unions a chance to help serve the community.

Disclosure: The Massachusetts Teachers Association contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Children's Issues, Civic Engagement, and Education. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Including the $236 million in federal funding for wildland fire management recently announced for 2025, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has invested a total of $1 billion to the cause, according to the Department of the Interior. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

This month, the federal government announced funding for next year's wildfire management, totaling $236 million and experts hope threatened …


Social Issues

play sound

From gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson to Superintendent of Public Instruction hopeful Michele Morrow, some Republicans running for office have …

Social Issues

play sound

California is home to more than 181,000 people who are unhoused, with 75,000 in Los Angeles alone, so the Los Angeles Food Policy Council will host a …


The California Department of Conservation is holding a public meeting online on Sept. 24, to update the public on its progress in plugging abandoned oil wells. (Alizada Studios/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package…

Social Issues

play sound

This week, National Voter Registration Day was another timely reminder for Ohioans preparing for the 2024 general election. The latest reports from …

Menhaden are forage fish species and filter feeders, each capable of filtering up to seven gallons of water per minute. (Photo of female Osprey with Menhaden/TRCP)

Environment

play sound

In Virginia's waters, the decline of a small but critically important fish is causing growing concern among conservation groups and fishermen alike…

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado voters will decide whether to change the state's constitution to ensure families have school choice as a fundamental right. Kallie Leyba…

Environment

play sound

By Claire Elise Thompson for Grist.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for New Hampshire News Connection reporting for the Grist-Public News Service C…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021