"A false sense of security": Inside school COVID testing

Also: Winter is coming – but grid operators aren't too worried; NASA's 2021 astronaut candidates have local ties [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  December 6, 2021 🌞 Mostly sunny, with a high near 42. Good Morning Boston, Love it or hate it, the first snow of the year is coming this week. Here's what you need to know: - Flakes will start falling by Wednesday afternoon, but will not accumulate until later in the day as it gets colder. Roads could get slippery at night, but we'll only see a coating to 2 inches, [according to meteorologist Dave Epstein](. - This winter weather isn't staying with us for long. Temperatures warm back up for the weekend – and federal forecasters think we're going to see above-average temperatures in New England this winter across the board. That's good for electrical grid operators, who say they think they'll have [no major problems with power outages]( in New England this winter as long as the weather stays mild. (To which I say, "please don't curse us.") OK, now that we've gotten the "how's the weather" talk out of the way: - Boston Mayor Michelle Wu yesterday [announced the members]( of the city's new COVID-19 advisory panel. The group will help the city navigate the latest looming variant, omicron, as well as look at long-term impacts of the pandemic. Who's leading it? Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of Boston Public Health Commission. - One COVID safety measure that Ojikutu says is sticking around for the foreseeable future: Boston's indoor mask mandate. - Local health experts think another COVID surge is coming right in time for the holidays. More on that below. Health experts say the best way to protect yourself and loved ones is – you know the drill by now – to get fully vaccinated. That means a booster shot for those who are six months or more out from the first two jabs. (Two months after one jab if you received Johnson & Johnson for your first dose.) - [To help]( Boston is supporting seven walk-in clinics that will offer boosters, as well as first or second shots. - BPS is adding more in-school vaccination clinics to help get more kids protected. - Boston will open higher capacity vaccination sites starting Saturday that will run on Dec. 11, Dec. 18 and two additional Saturdays in January. - The city is sending 20,000 free rapid at-home tests to communities hardest hit by the pandemic that have been having the most difficult time around access to these tests. - People moves: The Trustees of Reservations has a new leader. John Judge, who formerly led the Appalachian Mountain Club, will be the nonprofit's fifth president. The Trustees operate more than [120 properties]( including farms, museums and parks across the state. P.S.– It's the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. There's a ceremony this morning at the Charlestown Navy Yard, which includes a wreath-laying ceremony on the U.S.S. Cassin Young, a ship in the Pacific during the attack. There will also be a single cannon shot fired from the U.S.S. Constitution. I also recommend reading [this story about a 101-year-old]( who served on U.S.S. Oklahoma; he's returning to Pearl Harbor today. Meagan McGinnes Senior Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown ['A false sense of security': Critics question the state’s COVID testing program in schools]( Gov. Charlie Baker has touted the program, but critics question whether enough students are participating to make the results useful, and whether the benefits are being felt evenly across the state. [Read more.]( ['A false sense of security': Critics question the state’s COVID testing program in schools]( Gov. Charlie Baker has touted the program, but critics question whether enough students are participating to make the results useful, and whether the benefits are being felt evenly across the state. [Read more.]( [Infectious disease expert says to expect another COVID surge in Mass. as holidays approach]( The state's positive test rate has doubled in the last three weeks. More than 1,000 people are hospitalized with COVID. And we're seeing the number of COVID cases reaching levels we haven't seen since January. A Harvard research fellow joined Morning Edition to talk about where things stand. [Read more.]( [Infectious disease expert says to expect another COVID surge in Mass. as holidays approach]( The state's positive test rate has doubled in the last three weeks. More than 1,000 people are hospitalized with COVID. And we're seeing the number of COVID cases reaching levels we haven't seen since January. A Harvard research fellow joined Morning Edition to talk about where things stand. [Read more.]( [Omicron spreads uncertainty about holiday travel and dampens recovery for airlines]( The rapid emergence of the omicron variant of the coronavirus has many questioning whether they should rethink their holiday travel plans. [Read more.]( [Omicron spreads uncertainty about holiday travel and dampens recovery for airlines]( The rapid emergence of the omicron variant of the coronavirus has many questioning whether they should rethink their holiday travel plans. [Read more.]( [Boston grief support program for kids sees big increase in families seeking help]( The Good Grief Program at Boston Medical Center has experienced a 50% increase in families requesting services in 2021, over last year. [Read more.]( [Boston grief support program for kids sees big increase in families seeking help]( The Good Grief Program at Boston Medical Center has experienced a 50% increase in families requesting services in 2021, over last year. [Read more.]( [Uyghur organizations applaud the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics]( U.S. athletes are still expected to compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics, despite the diplomatic boycott from the Biden administration. [Read more.]( [Uyghur organizations applaud the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics]( U.S. athletes are still expected to compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics, despite the diplomatic boycott from the Biden administration. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Boston College's McMullen Museum of Art has received its [most significant gift ever]( 27 paintings by acclaimed artists like Pablo Picasso, John Singer Sargent and Mary Cassatt, as well as three works on paper, including one by Diego Rivera. Together it's worth over $20 million. - Here are [NASA's 2021 astronaut candidates]( as it plans for moon missions. Three have ties to Massachusetts through MIT – and one also went to Harvard and worked in radiation oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. It's a pretty impressive bunch. - Instagram is rolling out a [new set of safety features]( aimed at teens. The announcement comes as the company is about to testify in front of Congress about the potential harm it can cause teens and kids. - The mass shooting at Oxford High School might have been avoided, writes Dr. Nancy Rappaport[in this commentary]( had the school used a proven tool that’s known as a comprehensive safety assessment. What We're Reading 📚 - Olympic figure skater Ashley Wagner is back on the ice, on her own terms ([The Boston Globe]( - The ancient potato of the future ([The Counter]( - “Take Her Down”: Inside eBay’s Stalking Campaign against a Natick Couple ([Boston Magazine]( Tell Me Something Good [Skiing Santas back to shredding Maine slopes for charity (AP News)]( Santa is back to “sleighing” it on the ski slope. More than 230 skiing and snowboarding Kris Kringles took to a western Maine resort on Sunday to raise money for charity. [Read more.]( [Skiing Santas back to shredding Maine slopes for charity (AP News)]( Santa is back to “sleighing” it on the ski slope. More than 230 skiing and snowboarding Kris Kringles took to a western Maine resort on Sunday to raise money for charity. [Read more.]( Before you go: [Go easy on me]( baby. 😎 Forward to a friend. 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