Baker: MA Vaccination Effort Needs Local Help | Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Friday, Dec. 3. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• In the wake of Charlie Baker's announcement he will not be seeking a third term, reports are surfacing that former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is considering throwing his considerable hat in the ring.
• State wild life researchers were on Cape Cod and the Islands this past week helping federal officials better understand how the coronavirus affects white-tail deer.
• District officials assured families there was "no known credible threat" to Medford High School after the school received an anonymous threat Thursday morning.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

Gov. Charlie Baker met with more than 100 local leaders Friday and asked them to help in the state's effort to dole out booster doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

"We have a ton of supply — that's not our problem," Baker said at a Massachusetts Municipal Association meeting. "What we're looking for is additional capacity to administer the vaccine in the Commonwealth. … The good news is, the appetite for boosters among those who are eligible has picked up dramatically."

While the state is administering between 40,000 and 50,000 shots per day at about 1,000 locations, the demand is outpacing the number of available appointments. Baker asked the municipal officials to set up local and regional clinics to administer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots.

Read the full story.

Friday's Other Top Stories

Ex-Boston mayor considering run: Labor Secretary and former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Friday morning on CNN he "hasn't thought much" about returning to Massachusetts to run for governor. But in the wake of Charlie Baker's announcement he will not be seeking a third term, reports are surfacing that Walsh is considering throwing his considerable hat in the ring. Walsh deflected questions about a potential run on Bloomberg Radio, saying he still has "a lot of work to do here at the Department of Labor."

Deer tested for COVID on Cape Cod: State wild life researchers were on Cape Cod and the Islands this past week helping federal officials better understand how the coronavirus affects white-tail deer. Though deer have been found to carry COVID-19, wild life experts say it's unlikely the animals can transmit the virus to humans. Still, there is a lot that federal officials do not know about the virus, which is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture is studying COVID-19 in deer populations across the country.

Anonymous threat targets high school: District officials assured families there was "no known credible threat" to Medford High School after the school received an anonymous threat Thursday morning. Superintendent Marice Edouard-Vincent said the threat was called in to the principal's office, prompting an additional police presence at the school as a precautionary measure. It was the latest incident in a tumultuous week at Medford High School, where two incidents of violence sparked a student walkout on Wednesday. A second walkout was planned Friday, as administrators and counselors work with student groups to improve the environment at the school.

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Picture This: Holiday Tradition Returns

The Boston Pops performed at Symphony Hall Thursday for the start of a series of holiday shows that did not take place last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The holiday extravaganza was live-streamed last year, which – according to conductor Keith Lockhart – caused some of the magic to be lost from experiencing the show in person. "It's a combination of feeling like Christmas morning and look, let's face it, last year was the worst December of my life," Lockhart said.

They Said It

"Please get vaccinated. It matters. Get your boosters. Get your child vaccinated if they have not been vaccinated. There is nothing more apparent in terms of preventing the spread of the disease. It is really the one way to prevent schools from being interrupted."

• Salem Superintendent Steve Zrike. The school system may consider a vaccination mandate for all students amid a statewide rise in coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

In Case You Missed It

Crack in unsolved, 2001 murder case: A New Bedford man and the half-brother of a woman who was killed 20 years ago has been arrested and charged in the incident, the Bristol County District Attorney announced on Thursday. David Reed, 53, has been arrested in the slaying of Rose Marie Moniz, who was found dead after being beaten to death in her New Bedford home in 2001. Detectives working the cold case of Moniz used DNA evidence taken from a Conch shell to link Reed to the crime.

Positive COVID test rate above 5% in MA: Massachusetts reported over 5,000 new coronavirus cases Thursday for the first time since Jan. 16, 2020, as all coronavirus metrics continue to surge. The weekly average positive rate is nearly 5 percent, according to the latest data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. For a second consecutive week, over three-quarters of Massachusetts communities reported rising positive test rates over the last two weeks, according to town-by-town data released Thursday.