The state reported three new COVID-19 cases in Harvard for the week ending Feb. 19, down from five new cases a week earlier. This brings the town’s cumulative number of confirmed cases to 556. For the week beginning Feb. 28, the Harvard Public Schools reported three students absent with COVID-19, and one staff member who was either in quarantine or had contracted the virus..
According to the state’s weekly vaccination report, 4,612 residents in Harvard were fully vaccinated as of Feb. 22, an increase of four from a week earlier. Another 539 had received one dose of a two-dose vaccine, and 3,050 residents had received a booster dose, 21 more since Feb. 15. Using the town clerk’s Nov. 8 population data, the percentage of Harvard residents eligible for the vaccine (5 and older) and fully vaccinated as of Feb. 22 remains at 85.8%, and the partially vaccinated percentage is still 10%. These numbers do not include Devens residents or inmates at its Federal Medical Center.
Between Feb. 21 and Feb. 28, the state reported 6,664 confirmed COVID-19 cases, down from 10,080 the previous week. As of Feb. 28, 394 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19 in Massachusetts, 179 fewer than on Feb. 21, and 70 patients were in ICUs, 63 fewer than a week earlier. There were 303 COVID-related deaths in the state between Feb. 21 and Feb. 28, up from 167 the previous week.
On March 1 the Federal Bureau of Prisons website reported nine COVID-19 cases among inmates at the Federal Medical Center in Devens, the same number as the previous week, and five cases among staff, six fewer than the previous week. Since the pandemic began, 388 of the current inmates and 180 staff have recovered from COVID-19; 13 inmates died of the virus.
Editor’s note: The first paragraph of this article has been updated with information from the Harvard Public Schools.
