Massachusetts needs consistent, proactive plan to fight COVID-19

BOSTON, MA - Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate and current state senator Sonia Chang-Díaz (D-Boston) called on the Baker-Polito Administration to take swift, consistent action to combat the spreading COVID-19 delta variant. Chang-Díaz released a set of rapid-response priorities to fight the virus, detailing six immediate statewide actions the administration should take to protect public health.

“The Baker-Polito Administration has taken an inconsistent, path-of-least-resistance approach to pandemic safety that seems to be based more in politics than in science — and puts the health of Bay Staters in jeopardy as a result,” Chang-Díaz said in her rapid-response proposal. “This pandemic has shown exactly what happens when our leaders abdicate their responsibility and hope for the best.” 

“We need clear, consistent, proactive, and evidence-based action now to protect the health and safety of all our families and put Massachusetts on a secure path to recovery,” she continued.

The proposal outlines six immediate statewide actions the Governor could take to protect public health, including issuing mask requirements in all schools and indoor public spaces in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccine requirements for educators and health care workers, bringing the state into compliance with legally-required demographic data tracking for COVID-19 cases and setting of vaccine equity goals, launching a public vaccination education and persuasion campaign, and initiating a public process to explore and develop a vaccine credentialing system across the state.

Read the full overview of Chang-Díaz’s COVID-19 rapid-response priorities below or online here.