Massachusetts

Sept. 17 (UPI) — Massachusetts says that all citizens should be vaccinated to protect against the COVID-19 virus as the Bay State will now force insurance providers to cover vaccines approved by the state.

On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health released its COVID-19 vaccine guidelines through 2026 that suggested all state residents get a COVID-19 shot, including children ages 6, and particularly those at higher risk of exposure, with a weakened immune system or pregnant.

“We are not going to let Donald Trump or Robert Kennedy take away your ability to make your own health care decisions,” said Gov. Maura Healey.

The decision by Massachusetts came as the Food and Drug Administration under U.S. Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. approved in August its most recent round of COVID shots but federally limited their use.

Healey said earlier this month that Massachusetts will begin to require health insurance companies to cover state-recommended vaccines and became the first U.S. state to do so, followed by Illinois in an executive order Friday by Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat.

Executive actions in Illinois and Massachusetts could be the first in a series of other similar acts by governors to create a coalition to set vaccine policy separate of federal authorities.

“Massachusetts will continue to lead with science and protect access to life-saving vaccines,” Healey, 54, said Wednesday in a statement.

Notably, the Healey administration’s plan was backed by the nonprofit entities Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans.

The newly issued state guidelines stand in stark contrast to federal recommendations by the Trump administration and Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

Massachusetts health officials said the state acted on an “extensive review of current scientific data” consistent with widely respected groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The commonwealth’s Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein reiterated Wednesday that vaccines remain the “most effective public health intervention of the past century,” adding that vaccine use has “saved millions of lives.”

Goldstein stated its guidelines were “grounded in evidence and science, driven by equity and shaped by the lived experiences” of Massachusetts’ 351 communities.

On Monday, Healey called Kennedy a “walking conspiracy theorist who is denying people vaccines and the healthcare they want and need” during a speech to Massachusetts Democrats as she hailed her administration’s new vaccine coverage mandate for insurance conglomerates.

A recent study indicated that in 2022 and 2023 more than 1.5 million “missing Americans” died due to COVID-19 in excessive deaths that could have been averted.

But on Wednesday Healey said the state was taking this action “so the people of Massachusetts know that you will continue to be able to get the vaccines you want and need — no matter what happens at the federal level.”

Also on Wednesday, ex-CDC Director Susan Minaret appeared on Capitol Hill to testify in front of lawmakers over her termination by Kennedy due to allegations that she refused to allow all decisions to be approved by political staff.

Sept. 6 (UPI) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement began an immigration law enforcement surge in Massachusetts and Boston this week, while challenging their sanctuary laws in federal court.

The Trump administration this week began the surge, dubbed Operation Patriot 2.0, in Massachusetts and Boston, The New York Times reported.

The surge is in advance of a similar surge anticipated in Chicago and another that is already underway in Washington, D.C., and comes as the Trump administration has started challenging city and state sanctuary laws in federal court.

The Justice Department on Thursday challenged the legality of Boston’s 11-year-old sanctuary city law, called the Boston Trust Act, which does not allow city police to transfer detainees to ICE or hold them for possible federal immigration law violations.

The federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts names Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the city of Boston, the Boston Police Department and Police Commissioner Michael Cox as defendants.

The DOJ has accused them of violating the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause that gives federal law precedence over state and local laws.

The defendants also “interfere with federal law and create obstacles to the enforcement of federal immigration law,” the DOJ said, which asked the court to invalidate the sanctuary laws.

Responding to the lawsuit and enforcement surge, Wu accused the Trump administration of “targeting the very people who built our country and our cities,” WBTS-CD reported.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said the state needs other kinds of assistance from the federal government.

“It’s disrespectful to local and state law enforcement, who work hard every day,” Healey said.

“What we need from the Trump administration is funding for cops, funding for community policing [and] funding for law enforcement,” she added.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons earlier said the agency would “flood” Boston and other sanctuary locales with federal immigration enforcement agents.

Justice Department officials also warned Wu and leaders in other sanctuary cities and jurisdictions that they would lose federal funding and potentially face prosecution for allegedly obstructing federal immigration enforcement efforts.

While Wu and Healey oppose the federal immigration law enforcement surge, ICE officials on Thursday reported the capture and removal of an accused child rapist in Boston.

Agents with the ICE Boston office removed Albert George Davis, 59, from the United States on Aug. 21 and deported him to Jamaica, the agency said in a press release.

Jamaican officials sought Davis since 2020, when he was accused of raping a child in Jamaica and fled to the United States to avoid prosecution.

“He had been hiding out in our community for five years, but now he will be forced to face justice in his native country,” said David Wesling, deputy director of the ICE Enforcement and Removals Office in Boston.

“ICE Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by aggressively locating, arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our New England communities,” Wesling added.

Sept. 5 (UPI) — Massachusetts is the first state to force health insurance companies to cover vaccines recommended by the state’s department of public health.

The law will require that insurance companies not solely follow recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has seen recent changes to its vaccine recommendations by Health and Human Services Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration narrowed the list of people to whom it recommends the COVID-19 vaccine, drawing criticism from the Senate at Thursday’s hearing questioning Kennedy about that and other decisions.

“Massachusetts has the best health care in the world,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement Friday. “We won’t let Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy get between patients and their doctors. When the federal government fails to protect public health, Massachusetts will step up. The actions we are announcing today will make sure people can continue to get the vaccines they need and want in Massachusetts.”

On Wednesday, a group of states with Democrat governors — California, Oregon and Washington — announced plans to form a public health alliance to offer “evidence-based immunization guidance,” The Hill reported.

Healey said earlier this week that her state will join other Northeastern states to create a similar coalition to set vaccine policy.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans have said they support the action by Healey.

“Today’s action ensures that everyone who should get a vaccine will get one, and their insurance will cover it,” Insurance Commissioner Michael Caljouw said in a statement. “Our collective commitment — state government working with our health insurance companies — is important as we enter the fall season.”

The governor, in the press release, outlined a three-step plan:

The Division of Insurance and Department of Public Health issued a bulletin that requires insurance carriers in Massachusetts to continue to cover vaccines recommended by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The governor has taken steps to ensure that Massachusetts residents who want the COVID vaccine can get it at pharmacies.

Massachusetts is leading efforts to create a public health collaboration with states in New England and across the Northeast committed to safeguarding public health.

July 14 (UPI) — A fire at an assisted living complex in Massachusetts is under investigation Monday after it left several dead and injured Sunday night.

Jeffrey Bacon, Fire Chief of the city of Fall River, confirmed Monday nine people died and 30 have been hospitalized as a result of the five-alarm blaze that broke out around 9:30 p.m. EDT at the 100-unit Gabriel House Assisted Living Residence.

Bacon also explained that firefighters found heavy fire conditions upon arrival, and that some residents were hanging out of windows awaiting rescue.

One of the injured victims remains in critical condition, and five firefighters also sustained minor injuries due to the incident.

Bacon credited EMS, police and his department for saving lives while working in a coordinated effort during a press conference Sunday.

The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services announced Monday that a notification center has been established at St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, and that anyone who goes there should enter through its Emergency Department.