MBTA commuter train to offer walk-up COVID vaccinations
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will operate a commuter train offering COVID-19 vaccinations June 16-20 at stations in Boston, Worchester, Lowell, Lawrence, and Fitchburg, Mass. The Boston Globe reports the “Vax Express” will offer walk-up vaccination; while no appointment is required, residents may book a time slot in advance through the website of program partner CIC Health. Both the one-shot Johnson & Johnson and two-shot Pfizer vaccine will be offered; the train will run again in three weeks for those needing a second shot.
UP delays closure of Palestine, Texas, shop to June 25
After first announcing plans to move forward the closure of its Palestine, Texas, car shop, Union Pacific has said it will now delay the shutdown “due to recent legal developments.” The Palestine Herald-Press reports that employees at the shot received verbal notification on June 8 that Friday was to be their last day, then were told the next day of the delay until June 25. The railroad first notified employees of the planned closure in April, and reaffirmed those plans earlier this month [see “UP moves forward with closure …,” Trains News Wire, June 9, 2021]. Palestine and Anderson County, Texas, have been fighting the closure on two legal fronts since a federal judge ruled for UP in its effort to overturn a longstanding agreement with the town in February.
Northeast Georgia Inland Port project gets $2 million in federal funds
The Northeast Georgia Inland Port, a 104-acre facility slated to open later this year in Gainesville, Ga., will receive a $2 million federal grant as part of $5.8 million road project to support the port and a new heavy equipment research facility. The Augusta Chronicle reports a public information officer for Hall County, where the facility is located, said the county has also received $1 million grant from another source for the project. The Northeast Georgia port will be directly connected to the Port of Savannah, about 250 miles away, by Norfolk Southern, and will eventually have a capacity of 150,000 container lifts per year.
Vaccines are available at every hospital and medical clinic, and many pharmacies. People who believe and who follow the anti-vaxx drivel aren’t going to change b/c an MBTA train pulls into town.
I got my shots at a local hospital. Not on a train.