LAST WEEK
Last Monday, the Biden Administration announced that it would begin shipping its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccines abroad. The first 2 million doses were sent to Peru, with another 2.5 million committed to being sent to Pakistan through the World Health Organization’s global vaccination program, COVAX.
Also, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that Daniel Tsai, who currently serves as Assistant Secretary for MassHealth, the Massachusetts state Medicaid program, will join the Center on July 6th as the Deputy Administrator and Director of Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS).
On Thursday, the House Committee on Rules released a report that will inform an upcoming debate over House rules that had been postponed from January and will determine how the branch operates for the remainder of 2021-2022 session. The report recommends that live-streaming of all sessions and remote access to bill hearings should be made permanent, however, it recommends against showing the public how every individual lawmaker votes on bills at the committee level. The House will likely debate this issue in July, as their temporary rules are scheduled to expire on July 15.
Beginning Saturday, July 3, Massachusetts’ Commuter Rail weekend service returned across all lines, after several lines cut Saturday and Sunday service in January in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
THIS WEEK
Massachusetts’ “Vax Express,” a partnership between the commuter rail operator and CIC Health, will be offering COVID-19 vaccinations in Mattapan on Wednesday, Worcester on Thursday, Lowell/Boston on Friday, and Lawrence on Saturday. Those receiving a first dose will receive a $25 gift card to a local grocery store and be provided with a free meal. More information can be found here.
The Massachusetts State Government is currently being funding through a $5.4 billion interim budget that was passed last week. The appointed conference committee continues deliberations this week over the fiscal year 2022 budget.