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WORCESTER, MA — A COVID-19 and flu shot site at the Mercantile Center will no longer offer the vaccines starting this week, according to the Worcester Division of Public Health.

The UMass Memorial-run site was one of four main weekly vaccine clinics in Worcester. The Mercantile Center site will still offer free PCR testing for COVID-19. The cessation of vaccines will take effect Thursday.

WORCESTER -- Stephanie Boyd is a true living example of when you do good things for others it will come back in unexpected ways. The New Hampshire woman was diagnosed with liver disease and recently received a liver transplant at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

But 15 years ago, she donated her kidney to save her stepfather's life. 

DeAnna Pedro, a liaison between pediatrics and psychiatry at UMass Memorial Medical Center, reviewed Haley’s report and considered recommending time in a psychiatric unit. “She was doing a lot of high-risk things,” Pedro said. “So there was a lot of thought given to: Would we need to go to something extreme like a psychiatric admission?”

The testing site on Front Street in Worcester run by UMass Memorial Health is among those set to close on March 31. The decision is due to a drop in demand for COVID-19 testing, the state DPH said. UMass said it will continue to offer free testing at the Front Street site through March 30 for anyone ages 6 months or older. No appointment is required.

“The Massachusetts bill is very similar to the bill in California and other states,” said Dr.

At UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, President Michael Gustafson, MD, said the system is increasing the number of employees on its financial counseling team to assist patients who may see a loss of coverage. "This is a substantial amount of work that needs to be done," he told Becker's. "We are staying current with all communications from MassHealth [Medicaid], Mass Hospital Association and CMS.

“This is actually not a surprise to me what’s happening,” said Richard Ellison, MD, an infectious disease specialist at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. “Pretty much the entire world is saying that Covid has gone away. This remains a very contagious virus.”

Dr. Richard Ellison, hospital epidemiologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center, said a lot can change in three years. "We're very far advanced," Ellison said. "We don't have patients in the intensive care unit, we're not terrified about running out of equipment, or having enough ventilators." It was a much different situation three years ago, as described by then City Manager Ed Augustus during one of the city's COVID-19 briefings.

Dr. Richard Ellison, an infectious disease expert at UMass Memorial Medical Center, said the fungus’ resistance to treatment has increased and they have seen a few cases in Worcester. However, he said it’s typically only seen in someone who has spent a long period of time in the hospital. "Particularly those people who require lung ventilation or have been in the hospital for a long time can pick up this yeast,” Ellison said. “It can get into the hospital environment and be on surfaces and then be picked up by someone."