MA To Get More Vaccine Doses This Week: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Tuesday, March 16. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• The Department of Public Health said Tuesday the state's first known case of the Brazilian coronavirus variant was confirmed in Barnstable County. Meanwhile, the state saw a modest increase in its weekly allotment of the coronavirus vaccines.
• A lawsuit claiming state-funded circumcisions are a waste of taxpayer money will be allowed to move forward following a Suffolk Superior Court judge's ruling last week.
• Thousands of Massachusetts workers qualify for state food assistance programs despite having jobs with some of the world's biggest companies.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

State officials expect to receive 170,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine this week, a modest increase from the 155,000 Massachusetts has been given by the federal government in previous weeks.

The shipment, which Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced Monday, includes 8,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine. The shipment came as a surprise to state officials, who had been told not to expect any more Johnson & Johnson vaccine in March as the company ramped up production of the recently-approved drug.

The three companies making vaccines approved for emergency use by the FDA have said the amount of vaccine they can produce and distribute should increase dramatically in the coming weeks. But Massachusetts does not expect to move onto the next phase of its vaccination program, where all state residents will be eligible to get the shot, until next month.

Read the full story.

Exclusively On Patch

The working poor in Massachusetts: Thousands of Massachusetts workers qualify for state food assistance programs despite having jobs with some of the world's biggest companies. In the first of a three-part series, Patch looks at five years of data from the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance and finds companies like Walmart, Stop & Shop, Target and Dollar Tree employ thousands of Massachusetts residents who still need government food assistance to make ends meet.

Read the full story.

Tuesday's Other Top Stories

More vaccine on the way: State officials expect to receive 170,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine this week, a modest increase from the 155,000 Massachusetts has been given by the federal government in previous weeks. The shipment, which Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced Monday, includes 8,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine. The shipment came as a surprise to state officials, who had been told not to expect any more Johnson & Johnson vaccine in March as the company ramped up production of the recently-approved drug.

New supermarket: The Price Chopper chain is planning a $4.5 million overhaul of the Marlborough location. The chain will transform the store into a Market 32, Price Chopper's more contemporary, upscale brand.

Cut it out: A lawsuit claiming state-funded circumcisions are a waste of taxpayer money will be allowed to move forward following a Suffolk Superior Court judge's ruling last week. Ronald Goldman, an anti-circumcision activist from Boston, and 27 other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit challenging the way MassHealth pays for the procedure. Goldman's complaint argues that taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay for medically-unnecessary circumcisions.

Brazilian coronavirus variant on Cape Cod: The Department of Public Health said Tuesday the state's first known case of the variant was confirmed in Barnstable County. A woman in her 30s tested positive for the variant, known as P.1, in late February. Other variants have already been spreading in Massachusetts. One that originated in the United Kingdom, B.1.1.7, has been confirmed in 213 people here. The B.1.351 variant, first found in South Africa, has been confirmed in six residents.

Worcester favorite reopening: The downtown Worcester Armsby Abbey restaurant has announced plans to reopen this spring after closing one year ago due to the pandemic. Several other Worcester restaurants are either expanding or planning to reopen soon one year after the pandemic started.

Police department cleared in probe: An independent investigation into the actions of officers in the Needham Police Department who stopped and detained a Black man they suspected of shoplifting last year, found that there was no racial profiling. The independent investigation comes a month after the police department's internal investigation exonerated the officers of racial profiling. Both investigations found issue with the officers reporting methods and stressed that operational and procedural changes be made in the department.

In Case You Missed It

• Boston Marathon 2021 Will Host 20K Runners This October
• Gov. Baker's Approval Rating Tumbles As Pandemic Takes Toll
• MA State Workers Had More Job Security In Pandemic: Study