Kids 12 & Older Can Get Vaccinated Starting Today

Also: Hugs are back, but pandemic effects linger for some in long-term care; why you don't need to panic-buy gas ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [Donate [WBUR]]( [View in Browser](  [WBUR]( May 13, 2021 Good Morning Boston, 🌞 Sunny, with a high near 68. Getting vaccinated can now be a family affair. Here's what you should know this morning: - Kids 12 and older are eligible to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts starting today. Parents can help them make appointments or kids can walk-in at any location offering the Pfizer shot. This makes another 400,000 people in the state eligible for vaccination and could really help get our community spread better under control. So far, [more than 3 million people]( are fully vaccinated across the state, which is just over 43% of the population. - Cape Cod is expected to have an extremely busy summer season but businesses there are having a really hard time filling seasonal jobs. It's estimated that about 3,000 jobs could go unfilled because of the pandemic and restrictions on temporary work visas. Some companies are trying to offer higher wages to win workers and prepare accordingly. - The Boston School Committee gave the green light to overhauling high school graduation requirements, in a plan called "Mass Core." The new requirements call for four years of English, math and physical education, and only two years of foreign language and one year of art. These changes wouldn't go into effect for five years to give schools time to adjust curriculums. - The St. Vincent Hospital nurses strike is getting ugly. The hospital said it will begin to permanently replace some of its striking nurses, who have been off the job for more than two months. The two parties can't settle on agreed safe staffing levels. - Lights up! After 14 months, The Coolidge Corner Theater is [reopening today]( for in-person movies. They'll start with just weekend showings. P.S.– In more good reopening news, an annual arts and crafts market will start back up today in Downtown Crossing. It'll be there on Thursdays and Fridays from now through the end of October. It's a great way to support local artists and creators! — Meagan McGinnes [@meaganmcginnes]( newsletters@wbur.org The Rundown [1.](url)[The Grandkids Are Back, But Pandemic Effects Linger For Some In Long-Term Care]( Vaccines to stop COVID-19 mean that families can safely visit their loved ones in nursing homes again, after many months of staying apart. But the joy of reunion is tempered by the health toll of isolation. [Read more.](   #%23%23[Twitter](  #%23%23[Facebook](    2. [Mass. Hit New Overdose Peak in 2020]( The problem varies dramatically by race. There was a small decrease in deaths tied to opioids for white male drug users. But fatal ODs rose for white women, Latinos, Asian Pacific Islanders and Black people, groups also hit harder by COVID-19. [Read more.]( 3. [Officials Hope Vaccinating Kids 12 And Older Will Help Halt Virus Spread]( “I’m sure that getting the vaccine will allow me to feel safer spending time with people I love. Anyway, I’m just here to get it and move on with my life.” [Read more.]( 4. [At Rancorous Hearing On Jan. 6 Insurrection, Partisan Divide Takes Center Stage]( Former Trump administration officials testified for the first time on the Jan. 6 insurrection before a congressional committee on Wednesday, putting on center stage the bitter partisan divide over the role former President Donald Trump and his supporters played that day. [Read more.]( 5. [Mass. Health Boards Overwhelmed, Unready To Protect Workers]( The challenge created by forcing that responsibility on the municipal agencies, some staffed with only one or two people, may have contributed to at least one chairman’s heart attack and highlighted the fragility of the workplace-safety landscape in Massachusetts. [Read more.]( Support the news Anything Else? - There's no need to [panic-buy gas]( – and there never was. The pipeline restarted operations around 5 p.m. yesterday and, in wake of the hack, President Biden [signed an executive order]( boosting America's cyberdefenses. - No, you are not imagining it. Prices for a lot of things [did jump]( in April. - From an art festival in Fall River to a found objects workshop, here are [five things to do this weekend](. - Taymullah Abdur-Rahman, an imam, has long been a defender of Israel. The violence this week makes him wonder, [in this commentary]( how long he can look through a spiritual lens to contextualize political oppression. [WBUR] Your Daily Must Listen [Meet A Group Of Volunteers Bringing The Vaccine Into Boston Communities With Low Rates]( [Listen]( COVID-19 RESOURCES [CHARTS, MAP: Mass. Vaccine Tracking And COVID Case Counts]( Here's What You Can Do Under The State's New COVID Rules, And When. [Read more.]( Asked & Answered: Your COVID-19 Vaccine Questions. [Read more.]( What To Know About Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution In Mass. [Read more.]( 📬 Stay updated on vaccination news, variants and Boston's road to recovery. [Sign up for our weekly COVID-19 newsletter.]( What We're Reading - The PawSox Moved, but Pawtucket Has Yet to Move On ([The New York Times]( - Ideas: The hybrid workplace probably won’t last ([The Boston Globe]( - People Aren’t ‘Addicted’ to Wearing Masks, They’re Traumatized ([Vice]( Tell Me Something Good [If You Spot One Of These Paintings Around Boston, It's Up For Grabs]( Radio Boston spoke with local artist Jake Garcia, who has been painting landscapes outdoors and leaving them in the places that inspired them. He posts the paintings on his Twitter, with the location, available free of charge for the first person to get their hands on them. Before you go: "This came to me [in a vision.]( 😎 Forward to a friend. 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