The Massachusetts towns of Chelsea and Provincetown both made headlines during the past year-and-a-half, as the former became a COVID-19 hotspot hit by a tragic number of cases and deaths, and the latter saw a summer outbreak that initially concerned experts due to the number of cases among vaccinated people.
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But through persistent public health measures, both towns found success in turning their case numbers around. Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse and Gladys Vega, executive director of La Colaborativa, joined Jim Braude on Greater Boston to discuss how to learn from their success stories.
Morse said that Provincetown focused on “quick action” to address the summer outbreak through mask mandates, testing and vaccination requirements for small businesses.
“First and foremost, we deployed adequate and abundant testing as quickly as we possibly we could,” he said. “We have a very test-conscious, health-conscious community — both our residents but also the visitors here over the summer.”
In Chelsea, Vega said that building trust with the community was key. She explained that her organization partnered with a trusted local hospital to set up a vaccination site. In order to overcome skepticism, volunteers went door-to-door with doctors paired with translators to individually talk to residents about vaccinations.
WATCH: How Chelsea And Provincetown Turned Their COVID Fights Around
