As COVID-19 cases are unfortunately on the rise again locally and nationally due to the highly contagious Delta variant, we would like to keep our Fenway Health community informed about the steps we are taking to help our patients, visitors, and staff stay safe.
Everyone – staff, patients, and visitors – is required to complete a COVID-19 screening upon entry to any Fenway Health building. All persons will receive, and must use, a surgical mask at all times while on Fenway Health property, regardless of vaccination status. Physical distancing is not currently required for any masked persons while inside our buildings.
Please note that if you decide not to follow these guidelines, you may be refused entry into Fenway Health buildings on that day. We take public safety very seriously, and we ask you to do the same to keep us all healthy.
COVID-19 is still very much a part of daily life, and we can only beat it through everyone’s cooperation with public health best practices. The CDC is now recommending that everyone living in an area that is experiencing “high or substantial” risk for COVID-19 infections wear a mask indoors or in crowded outside settings, regardless of vaccination status. That currently includes most of Massachusetts, including all Fenway Health neighborhoods. We ask that our community members follow these new masking recommendations to help end this new surge.
While masking is very important, the best way to protect yourself, your family, and your community from serious or deadly COVID-19 complications is to get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. Unvaccinated people should get vaccinated as soon as possible and continue masking, indoors and outdoors, until they are fully vaccinated. With the Delta variant, this is more urgent than ever.
The CDC has updated its guidance for fully vaccinated people based on new evidence on the Delta variant. While we are hearing a lot about breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated people, that doesn’t mean that the vaccines don’t work. On the contrary, the fact that a very small number of these breakthrough cases have resulted in hospitalizations and an even smaller number in deaths shows that the vaccine is extremely effective in preventing serious COVID-19 complications. Of the current surge in COVID-19 cases, 99% of the people hospitalized have been unvaccinated.
Fenway Health strongly urges every person who is eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine. If you or someone you know is not yet vaccinated and would like to get a vaccine, please do not hesitate to contact our appointment line at 617.927.6000 to request a vaccination appointment. Please learn and share the facts about the vaccine, and help combat vaccine misinformation. Together, we can end this pandemic once and for all.