The city of Chelsea has been hit especially hard by the pandemic.
Recovery is happening slowly but surely in this enclave of essential workers, low-income families and multi-generational households. But Gladys Vega, executive director of La Colaborativa — formally the Chelsea Collaborative — is worried about her city.
"If we decide towards the end of May to take out all these things [lift restrictions] so that we can begin to have a normal life, normal life means we have to have resources such as vaccinations for our community and every community in the Commonwealth," Vega said.
Many people in Chelsea are still under the foot of COVID-19, waiting in food lines and facing eviction, according to Vega. And while vaccination rates are decent, there is still widespread hesitancy. Given all this, Vega said that testing needs to remain widely available as the state re-opens.
"The testing has to be happening with the vaccinations," she said. "I don't want people to think, 'O, I have the flu. Oh, it's just allergies,' and they may be COVID-19 positive, going around and getting people sick."
Meanwhile, high school students in Chelsea made their way back to classrooms on Monday. Superintendent Almi Abeyta said many families are still choosing to stay in full-time remote learning for the remaining few weeks of this school year and asking for a remote option next year. Chelsea is one of a dozen or so districts across the state that have applied for a waiver from to hold virtual schooling in the fall.
Click on the audio player above to listen to the full episode.
Segments:
Almi Abeyta - 6:14
Gladys Vega - 16:29
