BOSTON (AP) - Gov. Charlie Baker said his body ached and he experienced chills after receiving his second COVID-19 vaccine shot - and then immediately urged fellow Massachusetts residents to get their shots to help the state suppress the coronavirus.
“Yesterday was a long day,” Baker said at the end of an unrelated press conference Thursday in Danvers. “Twenty-four hours after I got it, I ached all over. I had chills. I didn’t have a temperature.”
Despite the discomfort, Baker said he was glad to receive the shot and said the best way to fight the coronavirus was for as many residents as possible to also get their vaccine shots. In two weeks, he said he will officially join the growing ranks of the fully vaccinated in Massachusetts, which is nearing 2.5 million in a state with a population of more than 7 million.
“I urge everybody in Massachusetts to go get vaccinated,” Baker said. “There is overwhelming evidence at this point, based on many of the populations that have been vaccinated so far, which includes a lot of very vulnerable populations, that vaccines work.”
Vaccines are currently available to anyone 16 years old or older.
The Republican also suggested that the state could move up the date when nearly all COVID-19 restrictions in Massachusetts will be lifted - currently Aug. 1 - provided people continue getting their shots and abiding by pandemic protocols.
“It depends a lot on what happens in the month of May,” Baker said.
“If people continue to get vaccinated in Massachusetts, if people continue to do the right things, if people continue to do the work that we all know will reduce case counts, reduce hospitalizations, and make this commonwealth a safer, better place, we’ll take a look at where we are and make a decision as we go about whether we can move that date up,” he added.
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VIRUS BY THE NUMBERS
The number of new daily cases of COVID-19 increased by about 1,300 Thursday while the number of newly confirmed coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts rose by 16.
The new numbers pushed the state’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll to 17,243 since the start of the pandemic, while its confirmed caseload rose to about 644,000.
The true number of cases is likely higher because studies suggest some people can be infected and not feel sick.
There were about 600 people reported hospitalized Thursday because of confirmed cases of COVID-19, with about 150 in intensive care units.
The average age of those hospitalized was 61. There were an estimated 26,000 people with current active cases of COVID-19 in the state.
Nearly 6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Massachusetts, including about 3.5 million first doses and nearly 2.3 million second doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
There have been about 206,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered.
Nearly 2.5 million people have been fully immunized.
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COVID-19 GRANTS
The Baker administration on Thursday announced $8.8 million in additional grants and contracts to community-based organizations as part of the Massachusetts Vaccine Equity Initiative.
The goal of the initiative is to increase awareness and access to the COVID-19 vaccine in the 20 cities and towns hardest hit by the pandemic.
The awards are part of the administration’s investment of $27.4 million in federal funds announced in March.
The funds will be distributed to community- and faith-based organizations statewide and will include $6.8 million to 25 organizations over 24 months to reduce barriers to vaccination for populations most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
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