Andover Pfizer Site Will Produce Coronavirus Vaccine: Patch PM

ANDOVER, MA — It's Monday, Dec. 14. Here's what Patch has been covering in the Merrimack Valley and across Massachusetts today.

Andover will be one of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine manufacturing sites, the company said after it received emergency use authorization Friday.

The company's vaccine was the first to receive the Food and Drug Administration's approval for use in the United States.

Andover is home to a 70-acre Pfizer research, development and manufacturing campus. That site will be one of five production facilities, along with ones in St. Louis, Kalamazoo, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin and Puurs, Belgium, the company said.

Massachusetts is expected to receive nearly 60,000 vaccine doses by Tuesday, which will go to health care workers in coronavirus care across the state. The first shipment arrived at Boston Medical Center Monday. Read More.

Also in the Merrimack Valley

North Andover Man Hit And Killed By SUV On Chickering Road

A pedestrian was hit by an SUV and killed in North Andover Sunday, police said. The victim was a 64-year-old North Andover man whose identity has not been released.

The man was hit by a 2017 Nissan Rogue driven by a 63-year-old North Andover woman. Her information is not being released.

School districts plan remote learning in place of traditional school days

With online school in place, that's likely Step 1 for schools. But there's still a scenario in which school is canceled altogether, in some districts.

Tewksbury Public Schools plan to go fully remote instead of canceling school for snow. In Andover, snow days will be remote, unless power outages affect online learning. The same is true in North Andover, but school cancellations will be at a school level based on local outages, the district said.

But some districts around the state are giving kids a break: Burlington's first snow day this year will be an "old-fashioned" one.

Across Massachusetts

Massachusetts Electors Expected To Cast Votes For Biden-Harris

A former high school classmate of President-elect Joe Biden is one of 11 people from Massachusetts expected to cast electoral votes Monday. Former Springfield mayor Robert Markel first met Biden when they were both freshmen at Archmere Academy, a Catholic high school in Delaware.

"I see the face I know so well, I hear the speech patterns and mannerisms and none of that has changed, other than his stutter is gone," Markel told the Boston Globe. "It gives you a certain strange feeling to see someone you know so well rising to this position."

While the Massachusetts vote is expected to be a surprise-free formality, the Electoral College is drawing more attention than usual in 2020 because of President Donald Trump's refusal to concede he lost the Nov. 3 election.

Bedford WWII Vet First VA Patient To Get Coronavirus Vaccine

Across the country, people rolled up their sleeves to receive the first doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.

While most of the vaccine recipients were frontline workers, older veterans in VA facilities also made the list. At Bedford's VA center, World War II Veteran Margaret Klessens, 96, was the first VA patient nationwide to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, at VA Bedford Healthcare System.

2 Charged In Fatal Woburn Shooting

Pauliasky Jean Francois, 34, of Plymouth, and Eric Mills, 29, of Hyde Park, Boston, were arrested and charged with murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault and battery by means with a dangerous weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon following the fatal shooting of Lloyd Borgella, 26, of Roslindale, outside a Woburn bar Saturday night.

Medford Restaurant At Heart Of Coronavirus Cluster Reopens

A Medford restaurant that local health officials linked to a cluster of coronavirus cases reopened Saturday with a "renewed spirit." Raso's Grille closed Dec. 1 after being told that a customer tested positive for the virus. Two days later, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced the city was tracking two separate case clusters, one of which stemmed from a "potentially oversized" gathering at Raso's.

Woman Breaks Into Cigar Shop, Steals $290 Worth of Stuff

Framingham Police are searching for a woman who broke into a local cigar shop early Monday morning and left with about $300 in merchandise, including pipe tobacco and a wooden humidor, police said. The break-in took place at the Watch City Cigar Company at 497 Worcester Rd. just before 3 a.m. when a police department spokeswoman said the female suspect was able to enter the store through an unlocked door.

MBTA Board Expected To Vote On Scaled-Back Service Cuts Proposal

The agency released a new plan Monday, ahead of a vote for cuts that would go into effect next month.

MA Food Workers: Lower Tips, More Sex Harassment During Pandemic

The survey also showed a decrease in the amount of tips workers are receiving while outlining other unfair or unsafe working conditions.

Also today:

• Woman Breaks Into Cigar Shop, Steals $290 Worth of Stuff: Cops
• Film Industry Donation Creates Toy Drive For Needy Worcester Kids
• UMass Memorial To Receive 1,950 Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine Tuesday
• Cape Man Seriously Injured After Crashing Stolen Dump Truck: MSP
• Man Leads Police Chase, Tries Running Over Officers
• Marijuana Hidden In Shampoo Bottle At Logan Airport: TSA

And finally today: A 21-year-old Massachusetts used the $10 bill his father left him six years ago to buy his first beer. Read the heartwarming story.