By Stuart Foster, Contributing Writer
MARLBOROUGH – Marlborough was gearing up for additional vaccine clinics as of Nov. 8, as young children become eligible for COVID-19 immunizations and as others become eligible for booster shots on vaccines they might have already received.
Speaking to the City Council on Nov. 8, Mayor Arthur Vigeant noted that the city was working with Bouvier Pharmacy to plan school vaccine clinics for 5- to 11-year-olds. Those clinics will take place on Nov. 20 and Dec. 11.
The city had booster clinics scheduled at the Senior Center on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12. Vigeant added that Marlborough Housing would have its clinics during this coming week.
Vigeant said that he had looked at the state’s numbers on the Department of Public Health website, which lists Marlborough’s population as 43,615. Vigeant said that Marlborough’s actual population is closer to 41,500, which puts the city’s fully vaccinated population at 72 percent. The total population of people in the city eligible for the vaccine, Vigeant said, is 37,000, of which more than 33,000 are vaccinated.
“So, if you just use the people that are allowed to be vaccinated up until this point, 80 percent of our residents are fully vaccinated and 89 percent of our residents have had at least one dose,” Vigeant said. “So, I think we’re doing pretty well here.”
Marlborough had 57 active COVID-19 cases as of Nov. 8, Vigeant said. That had increased to 97 active cases, though, by Nov. 12 according to city data.
Vigeant said that the city had a 2.93 percent positivity rate from testing over the last 14 days preceding Nov. 8, adding that Marlborough Hospital had eight COVID-19 patients. Four of those patients were experiencing breakthrough cases after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
Vigeant said that there were 16 COVID-19 cases in Marlborough schools – with eight in the city’s public schools, four in the Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School and four at the Advanced Math and Science Academy charter school.
“I know that the public schools are going up and down, we had zero, I think, last Tuesday,” Vigeant said. “So it’s been bouncing up and down a little bit.”
Councilor Samantha Perlman asked Vigeant about food security in Marlborough, which has been a concern for many amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that there had been increased demand at the Marlborough Community Cupboard. Vigeant said that his office is regularly in contact with Community Cupboard Director Barbara LaGrenade.
“She knows that when she starts getting really tight, she can call down here and get a check any time she needs to,” Vigeant said.
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