Arlington Town Manager Discusses Vaccinations, Town Meeting

ARLINGTON, MA – In his weekly update, Arlington Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine said the town continues to see consistent COVID-19 transmission and positivity rates. Despite concerns about variants of the virus, Chapdelaine encouraged residents to continue to get vaccinated and take precautions.

"You still need to be careful, mask when appropriate, social distance when appropriate, still try to limit your interactions with people outside of your household if you're not vaccinated, and especially if they're not vaccinated," he said.

Chapdelaine said the "light at the end of the tunnel" is starting to feel a little bit closer as vaccinations continue. In response to a question from the public regarding the need to close the vaccination gap for residents over the age of 75 who may be homebound, he said the communities that are doing a better job vaccinating seniors likely have a better social network to help seniors gain access to appointments. When compared to nearby communities' vaccination efforts, Chapdelaine said Arlington is in the middle of the pack, likely due to Arlington having a larger community but receiving the same percentage of vaccine doses as smaller surrounding communities.

Arlington was in the midst of an effort to vaccinate homebound residents when the Johnson and Johnson vaccine distribution was paused last week, Chapdelaine said, which has negatively affected efforts to reach those residents.

As for efforts to vaccinate residents ages 16-30 years old, Chapdelaine said the town plans to continue messaging highlighting the importance of getting vaccinated.

Chapdelaine also discussed efforts to support Arlington residents who have been impacted financially by the pandemic and are in need of rental assistance. There will be a third round of emergency tenant rental assistance available to residents, who can apply at arlingtonma.gov/covid19assistance.

"There are people that have suffered significant economic loss, instability and unfortunately that has corresponded to housing instability," he said.

Lastly, Arlington's virtual Town Meeting will begin on Monday, with more than 90 articles for consideration.

"There's expected to be discussion about declaring a climate emergency, about making Juneteenth an official town holiday, about changing Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day, with regards to celebrating Prince Hall Day here in Arlington," he said. "It will be a robust town meeting."

For more information about the Town Meeting, visit arlingtonma.gov/townmeeting.