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Boston health officials urge residents to get updated COVID vaccine: ‘Respiratory viral illnesses remain a public health threat’

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Boston health officials urge residents to get updated COVID vaccine: ‘Respiratory viral illnesses remain a public health threat’


Hub health officials are again urging residents to get the updated COVID vaccine, as the city’s vaccination rates remain low four years after the start of the pandemic.

The Boston Public Health Commission is encouraging residents to stay up-to-date on their COVID boosters, especially those who are 65-plus or immunocompromised.

“Respiratory viral illnesses remain a public health threat, but we have tools to protect against severe illness,” said Bisola Ojikutu, commissioner of Public Health and executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.

“The most important is vaccination against COVID-19, flu, and RSV which is the best way to prevent hospitalization, protect ourselves and our communities, and to ensure that our health care resources won’t become overwhelmed as they have in the past,” Ojikutu added.

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BPHC reported that 20% of people in Boston have received an updated COVID vaccine since last July. Also, about 40% of city residents have received a flu vaccine.

“It is particularly important for people aged 65 and older or immunocompromised to receive updated vaccine doses this spring,” BPHC said in a statement. “They should get vaccinated if it’s been more than four months since their last vaccination or three months after having COVID-19.”

This renewed vaccination push comes in the wake of the CDC releasing updated recommendations on how people can protect themselves and their communities from respiratory viruses — including COVID, the flu and RSV.

The updated recommendations are to stay home until your symptoms improve and it has been 24 hours since you had a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medication. Once returning to normal activities, people should continue to take additional precautions for the next five days, including wearing a well-fitted mask.

These updates come following a decrease in rates of hospitalization and death associated with respiratory illness, and more specifically COVID.

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“It is important to keep in mind that people can still spread viruses even when feeling better,” BPHC said. “Taking enhanced precautions, including wearing a mask in public when sick, are especially important for protecting those who are most at risk, including adults aged 60 and older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant people, and people with chronic medical conditions.”



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NFL Draft: Cardinals nab Boston College's Elijah Jones at No. 90

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NFL Draft: Cardinals nab Boston College's Elijah Jones at No. 90


The Arizona Cardinals took Boston College cornerback Elijah Jones with the No. 90 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Jones heads to Arizona after spending the past six years at Boston College.

Across nine games in 2023, Jones set career highs with five interceptions and eight passes defensed to go along with 25 tackles and a forced fumble.

Jones marks the second cornerback taken by the Cardinals this NFL Draft. In the second round, Arizona opted for CB Max Melton out of Rutgers.

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Cornerback marked a big position of need that had to be addressed this offseason, especially after the defense ended up 31st in the league with an opposing passer rating of 102.9 and was 30th in receiving touchdowns allowed with 32.

With Antonio Hamilton departing in free agency to Atlanta, Arizona went out and boosted the position with veteran free agent addition Sean Murphy-Bunting. He now fits in alongside the trio of second-year pros Garrett Williams, Starling Thomas V and Kei’Trel Clark and Melton.

Murphy-Bunting is near the top of the list to secure one of the starting roles in coordinator Nick Rallis’ defense.

Each of the three youngsters meanwhile flashed as rookies, with Williams taking over nickel corner after returning from a torn ACL suffered the year prior. Thomas and Clark both operated on the outside when on the field.

Who else have the Arizona Cardinals picked in the 2024 NFL Draft?

The Cardinals got after it in the first round with the additions of Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 4 overall and Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson at No. 27 overall.

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Harrison should be in line to take over as the team’s WR1. Robinson should also be in the mix for a meaningful role right away.

The Cardinals then flipped Nos. 35 and 186 to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for Nos. 43 and 79.

Twenty-three picks later, Florida State running back Trey Benson would get the phone call from Ossenfort at 66th overall.

Arizona used its next pick at No. 71 on offensive lineman Isaiah Adams out of Illinois.

Ossenfort again got on the phone, trading the 79th pick in the third round to the Indianapolis Colts for Nos. 82 and 191.

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He used the 82nd pick on Illinois tight end Tip Reiman

Where else are the Cardinals picking this NFL Draft?

Arizona’s remaining picks:

– Round 4, pick No. 104 overall
– Round 5, pick No. 138 overall
– Round 5, pick No. 162 overall (from Houston Texans)
– Round 6, pick No. 191 overall (from Indianapolis Colts)
– Round 7, pick No. 226 overall (from New York Giants)

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Could Houston Astros Have Something In Common With 1914 Boston Braves?

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Could Houston Astros Have Something In Common With 1914 Boston Braves?


The Houston Astros are 7-19 going into their series with the Colorado Rockies in Mexico City. It’s their worst start since the late 1960s.

But, perhaps there’s a little hope for the Astros? At least historically?

Houston lost 18 of their first 25 games. Even this early in the season, that can be hard to overcome. But, since 1900, one team has overcome that bad of a start and reached the playoffs.

According to MLB.com, that team is the 1914 Boston Braves.

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Back in 1914, little was expected of the Braves. They were coming off a 69-82 season and had not won or reached a World Series since their title in 1892 when they beat the Cleveland Spiders, 5-0-1.

Yep, 1892.

Boston got off to a bad start. After 25 games they were 6-19. But, this is why they’re known as the ‘Miracle’ Braves.

After dropping a July 4 doubleheader against the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Braves were 26-40 and 15 games back in the National League pennant race.

Right after that, they got red-hot, finishing 18-5 in July and was a game under .500 and nine games back.

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In August the Braves continued to pick up steam and on Aug. 25, after beating the Chicago Cubs, they were tied for the National League lead.

On Sept. 2, Boston took the NL lead for the first time and on Sept. 8 the Braves took it for good. By season’s end Boston was 94-59-5 and had a 10.5 game lead on the NL.

The run continued in the World Series, where the Braves swept the Philadelphia Athletics in four games.

Could the Astros do the same thing? Well, it could be a bit easier with six playoff berths in the American League — three division champions and three wild card berths.

At least there’s a little hope for a franchise that has reached at least the AL Championship Series every season since 2017.   

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Chinese Student in Boston Jailed for 'Disturbing' Acts

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Chinese Student in Boston Jailed for 'Disturbing' Acts


A man who stalked and threatened a fellow Chinese student on a Boston college campus after she put up pro-democracy fliers has been sentenced to nine months in federal prison and he will be sent back to China when he has served his time. Prosecutors said that after the woman put up fliers in solidarity with protesters in China, 26-year-old Xiaolei Wu tried to find out her address and threatened to chop her hands off in a message on the WeChat app, CNN reports. Prosecutors said he also reported her to his mother, a government official in China and told the woman that the country’s public security agency would “greet” her family, reports the Washington Post.

Wu was suspended from the Berklee College of Music after his arrest in 2022. In January, he was convicted of cyberstalking and interstate transmissions of threatening communication. With the prison sentence, he “learned there are serious consequences for harassing, threatening, stalking, and infringing on a fellow student’s constitutional rights solely because she was critical of the ruling Communist Party of China,” Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston field office, said in a statement. “What Mr. Wu did—in weaponizing the authoritarian nature of the People’s Republic of China to threaten this woman—is incredibly disturbing.”

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Prosecutors said the woman’s family in China received repeated visits from state security officials after Wu reported her and she feels she can no longer safely return to the country, the Post reports. She is now a permanent US resident. Wu’s lawyers said he will not be allowed to return to the US after he finishes his sentence and is deported. (More Chinese Americans stories.)





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