All the COVID policies changing today in Mass.

Also: Retaliation allegations at a max security prison; 5 things to do this weekend [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  May 11, 2023 ☀️ Mostly sunny, with a high near 80 and a slight chance of thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Good Morning Boston, A lot of things began changing early this morning when the clock struck 12:01 a.m. At both the federal and state level in Massachusetts, the COVID public health emergencies expire today. And they're not just government declarations on a piece of paper; as WBUR's Priyanka Dayal McCluskey [reports]( the expirations come with a slate of policy changes with immediately visible, real-world implications. Here's a quick summary: - Masks: You'll no longer be required to wear a mask at your next hospital visit or dentist appointment, due to [the end of the face covering mandate for health care settings](. Hospitals are free to require masks, but most systems plan to relax their policies. - One new mask rule: health care facilities must stock masks that patients, visitors and staff can access if they want. - Vaccination mandates: State government employees will [no longer be required to be vaccinated against COVID](. Boston is also [dropping its vaccination mandate for city workers](. (The White House's vaccine mandate for federal workers is [being lifted, too]( - Tests: Massachusetts' biggest health insurers will [stop covering free at-home COVID tests]( — meaning you'll pay out of pocket (about $24 per two-pack) unless your doctor orders them. - Tracking: The CDC will [stop regularly reporting on national COVID cases]( shifting its focus to hospitalization data. For now, Massachusetts isn't making any changes to its weekly reporting of COVID cases and testing. But the state's new public health commissioner, Dr. Robbie Goldstein, told reporters this week that he expects there will be changes in the coming weeks and months. - What stays the same: You [should still be able to get the COVID vaccine for free through your insurance]( due to Affordable Care Act rules. And even if you don't have insurance, vaccines and treatments like Paxlovid should remain free through at least 2024. - Doctors will also still be allowed to prescribe controlled substances using telehealth — [at least until November](. - Now what? Goldstein's recommendation for the average person — "what I tell my mom" — is to stay up to date on your COVID vaccine. For older and immunocompromised adults, that [may mean it's time for your second (if not first) bivalent booster shot](. - What if ... ? Goldstein expects the virus that causes COVID-19 to remain with us "for some time," changing and mutating — and public health leaders say they're ready to respond if rates rebound from [their current low levels](. For example, hospitals need a plan for when to reinstate mask mandates if there's a spike. "We have learned a tremendous amount, and we're going to continue to apply those lessons to all public health emergencies," he said. - Another pandemic-related policy that ends today: Title 42. The Trump-era policy [allowed immigration officials to quickly expel and deny entry to asylum-seekers at the border]( on public health grounds. - While asylum-seekers still face tough restrictions, NPR [reports]( that basically everyone at the border expects an influx of migrants in the wake of Title 42's expiration. - Mayor Michelle Wu's office is calling on the federal government to provide more work permits to asylum-seekers and more funding for community-centered support services. "We will continue to monitor the situation and are ready to be a strong partner to the state as it leads on this crisis," a city spokesperson said. - Zoom out: Massachusetts [saw more than 2,000]( [migrants arrive last summer]( primarily from Haiti and South America. - School buses are back on the streets in Marlborough this morning. After [a three-day strike]( that forced parents to scramble this week, drivers have agreed to a new contract with the city's bus company. - Somerville is relaunching a program offering some residents free taxi rides to grocery stores, food pantries and medical appointments. - The program will send residents with limited income 12 vouchers — usable through Oct. 31, 2024 — up to every three months. - Live in Somerville? See if you're eligible [here](. - Calling all aspiring guinea pig owners: The MSPCA and Northeast Animal Shelter are waiving adoption fees for guinea pigs today through Sunday, after recently taking in 45 pet rodents from a Suffolk County home. (According to the MSPCA, the owners thought all their guinea pigs were the same sex, and then, well ... babies!) - With their own cages now filling up, the animal rescue groups are offering fee-free guinea pigs (a savings of $30) at their branches in Boston, Methuen, Centerville and Salem. Learn more [here](. P.S.— Where can you catch WBUR newsroom staff on a sunny day? Amid this stretch of summer-like weather, we asked our team to [share their favorite patio dining options in Boston]( for our most recent edition of our Weekender newsletter. Help us add to the list by sharing your favorites, too. Just reply to this email with your top recs! Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [New court filings indicate feds are investigating alleged retaliation at Mass. max security prison]( A federal grand jury has been looking for at least a year into alleged brutality and retaliation by officers at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a prisoner's lawyer says. [Read more.]( [New court filings indicate feds are investigating alleged retaliation at Mass. max security prison]( A federal grand jury has been looking for at least a year into alleged brutality and retaliation by officers at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a prisoner's lawyer says. [Read more.]( [Trump continues lies about election and lashes out after N.Y. verdict in town hall]( Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. But Trump, to be expected, dismissed all that in a CNN town hall and continued his conspiracy about the 2020 election he lost. [Read more.]( [Trump continues lies about election and lashes out after N.Y. verdict in town hall]( Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. But Trump, to be expected, dismissed all that in a CNN town hall and continued his conspiracy about the 2020 election he lost. [Read more.]( [Report: Inflation and emotional stress cited among students as barriers to college enrollment]( A new national report suggests that despite significant enrollment declines during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of adults in the U.S. still see the value in higher education. [Read more.]( [Report: Inflation and emotional stress cited among students as barriers to college enrollment]( A new national report suggests that despite significant enrollment declines during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of adults in the U.S. still see the value in higher education. [Read more.]( [Advisers to the FDA back first over-the-counter birth control pill]( In a unanimous vote, a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended the agency approve the first over-the-counter birth control pill. In comments after the vote, panel members explained their support for the prescription-free pill. [Read more.]( [Advisers to the FDA back first over-the-counter birth control pill]( In a unanimous vote, a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended the agency approve the first over-the-counter birth control pill. In comments after the vote, panel members explained their support for the prescription-free pill. [Read more.]( [Red Line rider injured at Harvard stop plans to sue the MBTA]( Joycelyn Johnson, a 28-year-old Harvard doctoral student, said she was waiting for a train home when a utility box fell from overhead and struck her. She suffered a shoulder injury. [Read more.]( [Red Line rider injured at Harvard stop plans to sue the MBTA]( Joycelyn Johnson, a 28-year-old Harvard doctoral student, said she was waiting for a train home when a utility box fell from overhead and struck her. She suffered a shoulder injury. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - From the Boston Pops' spring kickoff to Somerville Porchfest to the long-awaited return of the Boston Night Market, we have a loaded weekend ahead. Check out [the full list of things to do here](. - It's getting a bit steamy at Coolidge Corner Theatre after dark this month. Film critic Sean Burns writes that “Pillow Stalk: Erotic Thrillers After Midnite" is [the Coolidge’s monthlong celebration of Hollywood’s tawdriest movies from the 1980s and '90s](. - Rising from the ashes: Jacob's Pillow, the Western Massachusetts home of the nation's longest-running dance festival, has [unveiled plans to replace its historic theater destroyed by a fire in 2020](. And as one advisor on the project put it, the new design will empower artists to be "as audacious and bonker balls as possible." - Jennifer Handt [writes in this essay]( that her son received a death sentence as a toddler: a diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. A new gene therapy offers hope — if she can get the FDA to listen.  What We're Reading 📚 - MLK’s famous criticism of Malcolm X was a ‘fraud’, author finds ([Washington Post]( - All the Exciting Media Outlets Are Dying. What the Hell Comes Next? ([The Walrus]( - How a Phoenix music club is reinventing R&B/hip-hop dance night for the home-by-11 crowd ([The Arizona Republic](  Tell Me Something Good [A fisherman looking for bass in the Charles River found an abandoned car instead. Then he found another — and another. (The Boston Globe)]( Jim Thames and his sonar device have found four long-lost cars under the water’s murky surface. He’s on a mission to find more. [Read more.]( [A fisherman looking for bass in the Charles River found an abandoned car instead. Then he found another — and another. (The Boston Globe)]( Jim Thames and his sonar device have found four long-lost cars under the water’s murky surface. He’s on a mission to find more. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common [explains Cambridge's "Rise Up" program and where it fits into a broader guaranteed income movement](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: You won't find [a more beautiful painting]( for $200. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news   Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here](.  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2022 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.