This week Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker was grilled by a legislative oversight committee looking into his administration's COVID-19 response.
Some lawmakers took issue with local health agencies being cut out of the vaccination effort, with large privately run sites instead taking priority.
During the hearing, Baker defended his actions.
"As unhappy as some people may be with that decision, you know, we are outperforming every other state in the country across most of the CDC's key performance measures," Baker said.
Some local and regional health officials told the legislative panel they had plans in place for years to execute mass vaccination and that the message from the Baker administration has been inconsistent.
Panelist Chris Collins said he's always felt the local officials have a better feel for what's going on in their communities. That's said, he believes Baker has done his best to manage in a crisis.
"There are always going to be people that are going to second-guess when something doesn't go the way it should," Collins said. "But I can tell you, in my experience alone, trying to get an appointment for a shot, there certainly has been some drawbacks in the system and I understand the frustration."
Panelist Natalia Muñoz said the state has started to do better.
"It learned from the disastrous rollout, when the website wasn't working. From when they had little old ladies waiting in the snow at the Eastfield Mall," she said. "The state has been getting better, and has been learning. So I don't doubt that it's going to continue getting better."
The governor has said all resident 16 years and older will be eligible for the vaccine beginning April 19, although it may take a while for everyone to get appointments.
Meanwhile, some educators in Massachusetts said standardized tests given to English learners should be skipped this year, because of difficulties students have encountered learning remotely. The federally mandated tests measures student progress in several areas.
Jean Marvel teaches English learners at Central High School in Springfield. She said students have been speaking less during remote classes, and she's worried about their self-esteem after taking the test.
"Our job is to build students up and tell them, 'Yes, you can do this.' And that test will do the opposite," Marvel said.
A spokesperson for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said Massachusetts is not planning to seek a federal waiver to skip the test.
Also, a panel in Northampton, Massachusetts, looking into policing reform is proposing a new department to take over some functions which currently belong to the city's police department. The Department of Community Care would respond to most crises involving mental health, homelessness or substance abuse, with the group saying it would be better equipped to handle these situations.
And finally, Friday was Holyoke, Massachusetts, Mayor Alex Morse's final day in office. He resigned to become the town manager in Provincetown. He became Holyoke's youngest and first openly gay mayor, when he was elected in 2011.
Guests:
- Natalia Muñoz, host, Vaya Con Muñoz on WHMP
- Chris Collins, contributing editor, Franklin County Now
