NEWSROOM

More than 5,000 breakthrough COVID infections have been reported in Massachusetts, according to the latest Department of Public Health data. But the rate of fully vaccinated people ending up in the hospital remains low.

Dr. Robert Finberg, of UMass Medical School, answers questions on the booster timeline and vaccines and precautions as students head to campus.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Worcester Health Commissioner Dr. Matilde “Mattie” Castiel has been out in communities of color, seeing a disproportionate effect from the virus.

As COVID-19 cases rise and the delta variant makes its way into the state, UMass Memorial Medical Center on Thursday unveiled a new weapon in the fight against the pandemic: monoclonal antibody treatment.

UMass Memorial Health — HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital recently invested $717,000 to fund community-based initiatives aimed at tackling the urgent health challenges of food insecurity, substance abuse and workforce development, according to a press release from the hospital.

Ten years ago, William Lee, 77, underwent a liver transplant at UMass Memorial Medical Center, as he was suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of primary liver cancer. 

As some neighboring communities soar ahead of the state average, Marlborough and Hudson are still keeping pace in the ongoing push to vaccinate as many residents as possible against COVID-19, state data shows.

Alliteratively, they’re a great match. But parades and pandemics have a troubled history. In September 1918, a parade in Philadelphia helped fuel a surge in the influenza pandemic that year that killed thousands.

On Thursday, Harrington HealthCare System officially became a part of the UMass Memorial Health system, a partnership that officials have said will strengthen health care in Central Massachusetts.

UMass Memorial Health on Thursday celebrated the official merger with Harrington HealthCare, which has operations in Southbridge and Webster, as well as other outposts.

Through a collaborative effort between the school district, the Board of Health and UMass-Marlborough Hospital staff, students over the age of 12, with parental consent, are being vaccinated against COVID-19 during the school day at both Marlborough’s high school and at the middle school.

UMass Memorial Health – Marlborough Hospital has been awarded a grant from the Cummings Foundation of $300,000 over 10 years.