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From YouTube: B Together Media Availability - 1/15/22
Description
Mayor Wu hosts a media availability to discuss the city's B Together initiative.
A
It's
our
pleasure
to
welcome
our
mayor
of
the
city
of
boston,
mayo,
michelle
wu
as
she
launches
the
be
together
policy
and
initiative.
This
is
something
that
we
know
will
save
lives
will
improve.
The
economy
will
improve
the
quality
of
the
was
the
lives
of
the
residents
of
boston.
So
we
applaud
your
leadership
mia
wu.
We
applaud
your
public
health
focus.
A
Besides
the
health
impact,
we
see,
the
negative
impact
on
our
children
at
william
was
seeing
increased
mental
illnesses
due
to
the
social
isolation.
Anxiety
trauma
suicide,
ideation
weights,
our
youths
growth
have
been
stunted
and
we
know
the
best
place
for
our
brown
and
black
children
are
in
the
schools.
So
we
applaud
that
so
from
an
economic
from
a
health
and
well-being
from
a
public
health
from
our
youth,
we
are
grateful
that
this
policy
is
being
implemented.
A
We
stand
ready
to
continue
our
partnership
with
the
city
of
boston
and
the
boston
public
health
commission.
We
also
stand
ready
to
support
city
employees
in
increasing
vaccination
rates
going
to
them
meeting
them
where
they
are
so
we
can
all
be
in
compliance
and
have
a
healthier
2022
and
beyond.
Please
join
me
in
welcoming.
B
Thank
you
so
much.
Thank
you
so
much.
President
federica
williams
is
just
such
an
example
of
the
type
of
partnership
and
constant
leadership
that
we
are
so
grateful
for
across
our
city.
Our
community
health
centers
play
a
critical
role
day
in
and
day
out
in
the
health
and
well-being
of
our
residents,
but
especially
during
this
pandemic,
their
services
and
their
platforms,
and
their
outreach
has
been
essential
in
our
work
to
close
gaps
in
our
communities
and
to
meet
each
resident
where
they
are.
B
I
want
to
give
a
special
thanks
to
whittier
street,
not
only
for
hosting
us
today
and
for
hosting
this
very,
very
productive
and
important
vaccination
clinic.
I
heard
from
the
doctors
here
that
more
than
250
people
a
day
are
getting
vaccinated
here,
along
with
testing
every
single
available
to
residents
from
every
single
background
across
our
city.
Whittier
street
was
also
the
community
health
center
running
the
mobile
clinic
and
van
that
was
deployed
at
our
first
night
celebrations,
where
we
saw
hundreds
of
people
receive
their
vaccinations
and
boosters
because
of
that
innovation
and
that
leadership.
B
B
Today,
I
just
wanted
to
you
know
I'm
here
to
to
answer
any
questions
and
and
be
out
making
sure
people
remember
that
we
still
have
work
to
do
in
closing
vaccination
rates.
Today's
launch
of
our
be
together
policy
means
that
we
are
taking
important
steps
on
the
policy
side
to
close
those
gaps
and
continue
protections
for
our
workforce
and
for
our
residents.
B
I
continue
to
hear
from
our
partners
in
healthcare
and
in
our
health
institutions
that
the
ongoing
strain
on
our
health
care
system
overall
is
still
being
driven
by
gaps
in
vaccination
rates.
Just
this
morning,
we
saw
news
of
yet
another
large
player
in
our
hospital
system
needing
to
push
back
even
more
surgeries
to
make
space,
because
we
see
very
badly
needed
beds
and
capacity
with
our
hospital
system
being
pushed
out
covered
19
and
unvaccinated
patients
who
are
suffering
from
severe
illness
because
of
covid
are
squeezing
out
the
capacity
for
needed
procedures
and
other
health
treatments.
B
When
you
have
a
surgery
that
is
deemed
not
immediately
necessary
because
our
icus
and
emergency
rooms
are
full
with
unvaccinated
coveted
patients
by
the
time
that
gets
kicked
out
several
months
or
a
year
later,
you're
talking
likely
and
even
more
intense
support.
That's
needed,
potentially
an
even
more
serious
surgery.
That's
needed
at
that
point.
So
every
bit
of
delay
that
we
see
now
every
month
every
week.
That
goes
by
that
we
are
still
seeing
the
effects
of
coping
19
and
this
pandemic
dragon
is
creating
ripple
effects
later
on.
For
all
of
us.
B
We
all
need
a
healthy
and
accessible
health
care
system,
and
that
is
very
much
tied
up
in
preventable
instances
of
severe
illness
and
hospitalization
due
to
gaps
in
covet
19
vaccination
rates,
and
so
our
policy
is
meant
to
be
a
strong
support
for
our
health
care
system
and
for
our
residents
at
large.
We
know
that
this
works
in
the
city
of
boston.
B
Our
city
workforce
also
is
now
under
the
the
first
phase-in
of
our
vaccination
policies,
which
require
vaccination
and
across
the
city
workforce
we've
seen
the
numbers
jump
over
the
last
week,
nearly
700
additional
city
workers
have
been
vaccinated
after
this
policy
or
in
leading
up
to
this
policy
taking
effect
today,
we
will
continue
to
take
steps
in
partnership
with
our
community
partners
and
city
council
and
other
levels
of
government
to
be
leading
the
way
and
using
every
possible
tool
that
we
can
to
end
this
pandemic.
So
I'll
invite
president
flynn
to
say
a
few
words.
C
I'm
honored
to
be
here
with
the
mayor
of
the
city,
and
it's
also
important
that
we
continue
the
outreach
to
our
neighbors
to
our
immigrant
neighbors
communities
of
color,
making
sure
that
they
have
equal
access
to
vaccination.
Testing
face
coverings
as
well,
and
the
other
thing
I
wanted
to
share
is.
C
I
think
it's
also
important
during
these
difficult
times
in
our
city
and
our
country,
that,
even
if
we
disagree
with
each
other
on
what
is
the
right
approach,
it's
important
that
we
treat
everyone
with
respect
and
dignity
and
to
make
sure
that
we
listen
carefully
and
we
treat
everyone
feeling
just
the
level
of
intimidation
that
you
see
across
the
country.
Crunchy
is
growing
and
we
have
to
dial
it
back
to
make
sure
we
treat
everybody
fairly
and
with
respect
as
well.
C
D
Around
500
people
who
raised
the
coal
today
to
protest
across
the
city
against
this
new
indoor
vaccine
requirement.
What
would
your
response
be
to
the
people
out
here?
Who
are
saying
this?
Isn't
the
right
thing
to
do.
B
B
You
or
your
family
or
loved
ones,
will
need
access
to
our
hospital
and
health
care
system.
At
some
point,
and
as
that
gets
crowded
and
as
coveted
unvaccinated
severe
cases
of
covet
are
crowding
out
everything
else,
we
are
going
to
pay
for
that
in
the
months
to
come
as
well.
We
also
know
that
our
small
businesses
are
already
one
by
one
in
different
cases,
have
been
weighing
the
decision
on
how
to
keep
their
workforce
and
customers
safe.
B
But
when
we
without
a
clear
policy
that
applies
across
the
board,
we
put
the
burden
on
our
small
businesses
to
make
the
right
calls
to
absorb
the
the
heat
of
it.
This
is
a
city-wide
policy
that
is
based
on
the
science
that
is
based
on
the
needs
of
our
health
care
system
to
end
this
pandemic,
and
it
is
a
city-wide
policy
decision.
I
am
happy
to
be
held
accountable
for
that,
please,
as
you
are
out,
and
about
in
our
city,
do
not
heckle
our
restaurant
owners
and
small
business
employees.
B
This
is,
this
is
a
policy
that
is
meant
to
be
a
public
health
support
for
all
of
us.
It
is
not
on
the
shoulders
of
our
small
business
owners,
and
I
will
continue
to
stand
with
them,
support
them
and
make
sure
that
the
city
is
providing
every
resource
we
can
to
get
our
businesses
back
up
and
running
and
support
our
economy
as
we
recover.
D
Speaking
of
small
businesses,
you
know
we
did
talk
to
a
couple
small
business
owners
in
the
city
over
you
know
the
last
week
leading
up
to
today,
and
some
of
them
have
expressed
that
it's
difficult
for
them
to
have
the
staff
right
now
with
the
spread
of
the
variant
of
them,
staffing
shortages,
to
be
able
to
implement.
You
know
having
someone
at
the
door
to
check,
and
you
know
we
talked
to
one
restaurant
in
the
north
end.
D
It's
like
we're
just
doing
takeout,
because
we
just
don't
have
the
staff
right
now
to
make
sure
that
we're
constantly
checking
and
checking
and
checking
as
people
come
in.
So
is
there
a
potential
negative
side
and
is
that
something
that
you've
outweighed?
And
you
know
what
have
you
been
hearing
from
small
businesses.
B
Our
small
business
owners
have
been
bearing
so
much
over
the
last
18
plus
months,
and
it's
really
going
to
take
all
of
us
stepping
up
doing
everything
we
can
to
end
this
pandemic
so
that
they
can
continue
to
thrive
and
they're
they.
They
continue
to
be
anchors
of
our
communities
in
other
cities
that
have
these
policies
once
it
is
fully
implemented.
It
becomes
part
of
the
the
culture
and
the
regular
rhythm
of
small
businesses,
so
it
is
really
not
intended
to
be
overly
burdensome.
B
We've
had
a
lot
of
webinars
and
open
q
and
a
sessions
we've
gone
door
to
door
throughout
many
of
our
small
business
districts
just
to
be
present
and
provide
support.
Each
business
is
asked
to
and
has
been
wherever
we
could
hand
delivered
a
sign
that
goes
in
the
window,
so
the
burden
is
not
on
that
business
to
need
to
explain
or
spend
time
documenting
everything
that
signed
has
everything
that
anyone
needs
to
know
and
the
city
will
be
there
to
support
the
implementation
of
this.
E
Couldn't
you
say
the
opposite,
which
is,
could
you
say
change
the
messaging
around?
This
could
be
good
for
restaurants,
meaning
that
the
amount
of
people
that
may
not
be
able
to
go
now
will
be
upset
by
the
amount
of
people
now
feel
like
they
can
and
and
go
to
a
restaurant,
because
now
they
feel
safe
that
everybody
in
the
restaurant
is
activated,
including
employees.
We've.
B
Heard
that
from
a
lot
of
restaurants
and
a
lot
of
small
businesses
and
customers
too,
and
and
many
of
the
businesses
that
we've
spoken
to
had
already
decided
that
for
their
own
workforces,
health
and
safety,
they
were
going
to
implement
this
on
their
own
along.
You
know
several
months
ago,
and
so
it
is
about
creating
a
sense
of
revitalizing,
our
restaurants
and
small
businesses,
making
sure
people
can
feel
comfortable
going
out
again
and
making
sure
that
we
are
doing
everything
we
can
for
the
to
protect
our
workforce
and
customers.
B
B
Okay,
I'm
sorry,
I
don't
have
the
inverse
number.
So
I
don't
exactly
know
what
the
denominator
is,
that
of
total
that
are
not
there,
but
that
has
been
a
big
jump
of
several
hundred
employees
even
in
the
last
week,
so
we're
going
to
continue.
B
B
I
don't
have
that
number
yet,
but
given
that
the
deadline
falls
on
the
starts
today,
the
review
of
those
requests
and
the
review
of
every
person's
status
of
whether
they
fully
uploaded
the
proof
of
vaccination
will
begin
in
earnest
on
tuesday.
Given
that
monday
is
a
holiday
as
well,
and
that
white
there
will
be
a
few
days
of
reaching
out
directly
to
employees
who
still
need
to
submit
proof
of
vaccination,
and
then
further
steps
will
will
kick
in
the
week.
After
that,.
B
B
We
have
followed
closely
the
example
of
other
cities,
where
there's
a
period
of
time
of
working
very
closely
with
those
businesses
before
any
any
fines
might
take
place
and
sorry
what
and
what
was
the
reason
for
the
pushback.
B
Will
there
be
more
changes
to
the
policy
you
know
covet
is
changing.
Every
day
we
have
been
implementing
this
policy
for
the
last
several
weeks,
there's
been
a
lot
of
work
that
has
gone
up
to
this
day
already
in
terms
of
working
with
our
business
owners
working
through
our
own
internal
personnel
processes
and
making
sure
we're
updating
all
of
those
internal
procedures
as
well.
There
was
no
push
back
to
the
mandate
or
anything
like
that.
B
Today
is
the
day
to
up
in
terms
of
the
internal
mandate.
Internal
proof
of
vaccination
today
is
the
day
to
have
uploaded
all
of
that
information.
It
will
take
some
time
to
process
that
and
conduct
the
individual
outreach
person
by
person,
because
we
really
want
this
to
be
a
policy
that
boosts
vaccination
rather
than
is
punitive
to
our
employees,
and
so
we're
going
to
keep
working
with
every
single
person
we've
been
proceeding
along
our
timelines,
as
originally
planned.
B
The
processes
for
exemption
requests
have
already
been
laid
out
with
the
cur
the
city's
current
vaccination
policy
as
well.
So
it
is
largely
around
medical
and
religious
exemption
requests
and
those
are
evaluated
on
a
case-by-case
basis,
but
again,
given
that
today
is
the
first
the
the
sort
of
deadline
day
that
will
happen
over
the
next
couple
days,
starting
next
work
week.
B
So
we're
tracking
day
by
day
the
absences
within
our
workforce,
as
well
as
the
student
attendance
rates.
In
fact
both
have
been
increasing
student
attendance
has
been
climbing
steadily.
It
was
at
about
70
when
we
first
returned
from
winter
break
and
it
has
gone
up
since
then.
I
think
the
latest
number
just
creeping
up
a
few
percentage
points.
B
It
has
been
years
working
under
near
impossible
circumstances,
with
so
many
additional
safety
precautions
to
administer
classroom
by
classroom
and
on
the
ground
with
covering
for
absences
from
someone
who
that
were
unexpected
because
of
positivity
rates
in
the
community,
with
teachers
who
are
parents
themselves
having
to
stay
home
because
their
children
have
been
exposed
in
their
classrooms.
To
someone
who
is
tested
covet
positive,
and
so
we
really
see
the
ongoing
layers
of
impacts
on
our
school
system
and
again,
this
is
why
policies
like
be
together
are
so
important
and
necessary.
B
What
happens
in
our
classrooms
really
is
the
result
of
what
our
family
members
and
educators
are
experiencing
out
in
the
community.
So
every
step
we
can
take
to
keep
transmission
down
to
boost
vaccination
out
in
the
community
makes
it
more
possible
for
a
high
quality
supported
learning
environment,
even
though
you
may
have.
H
A
vast
majority
of
students,
70
70
75,
able
to
go
to
school.
It
would
seem
as
though
those
who
are
being
diagnosed
with
colon
are
catching
it
in
school
and
if
that
continues
to
be
the
means
of
transmission
for
thirty
percent
of
the
student
body
and
that
just
stays
steady
with
thirty
percent,
always
catching
covered
in
school.
At
some
point
does
that
become
a
factor
and
you
just
it's:
it's
not
a
a
fair
or
a
wise
proposition
to
make
everyone
go
to
school.
B
So
our
schools,
our
school
leaders
and
our
teachers
and
educators,
our
school
staff-
let
me
just
say
more
broadly:
our
school
staff
have
this
down
to
a
science
of
how
to
really
protect
young
people
in
our
classrooms.
We
are
moving
as
a
district
to
more
frequent
testing.
There
are
parameters
and
the
kids
are
used
to
having
masks
on
and
knowing
what
to
do
and
and
how
to
be
safe,
and
so
there's
very
little
evidence
that
there's
transmission
happening
within
our
schools.
B
Much
of
it
is
the
fact
that,
when
community
positivity
rates
are
as
high
as
they've
been
over
30
percent
right,
we
were
at
32
community
positivity
last
week
that
affects
then
what
what
happens
in
our
classrooms.
But
it's
it's
not
our
school
leaders
and
our
teachers
are
doing
a
great
job
of
making
sure
our
classrooms
are
safe.
F
B
F
Tweets
this
morning,
addressing
sort
of
the
toll
that
the
demonstrations
have
been
taking
on
your
family
and
your
neighbors.
You
should
consider
talking
about
that
and
also
I'd,
be
curious
to
know
if
you,
if
your
father
ever
endured
those
kind
of
at
your
doorstep,
demonstrations
during
his
mayoral
administration.
B
So
it's
it's
been
a
pretty
regular
occurrence.
7
a.m.
Our
we're
joined
by
a
crowd
outside
with
megaphones-
and
I
am
you
know-
I've
been
in
politics
for
a
long
time
in
boston.
I
have
never
once
backed
down
from
a
position
or
an
issue
because
people
are
yelling
or
getting
loud.
B
I
think
it's
important
as
the
tone
and
intensity
of
misinformation
and
rhetoric
ramps
up
across
our
country
in
politics
to
note
what
this
means
on
a
human
level
for
people
who
are
living
through
it
and
again
I
am-
I
am
used
to
this.
Unfortunately,
many
women
of
color
serving
in
positions
of
leadership
are
used
to
this,
but
I
live
in
a
two-family
home
on
a
residential
street.
My
next
door,
neighbor
is
a
96
year
old
veteran
who
deserves
to
have
his
sleep
in
the
morning.
B
B
I
am
eager
to
engage
with
residents
in
the
many
decisions
that
we're
making
and
I
know
now
is
an
incredibly
stressful
time.
It
is
a
scary
time.
It
is
an
exhausting
time
for
all
of
us,
so
I'm
you
know,
I
think
it's
important
to
shed
a
light
on
where
we
are
as
a
country
that
there
is
deeply
rooted
misinformation,
that
we
need
strong
policies
to
counteract
and
every
day
I'm
reminded
of
that
at
my
house
and
every
day
it
makes
me
sure
that
boston
needs
to
lead
the
way
on
these
policies.
C
C
I
have
a
wonderful
relationship
with
them,
but
this
pandemic
has
especially
hit
the
asian
community
very
hard
across
the
country
and
including
here
in
massachusetts.
So
I
think,
what's
important
is
we
have
to
make
sure
we
treat
our
immigrants
with
respect
and
dignity
and
I'm
proud
to
work
closely
with
mayor
woo,
because
I
know
she's
dedicated
and
committed
to
the
residents
of
the
city
and
treats
everybody
fairly
as
well.
So
I
just
wanted
to
say
thank
you
to
the
mayor,
but
also
to
come
here
and
to
support
the
mayor
as
well.
D
But
I
know
a
lot
of
people
this
week
have
been
downloading
the
qr
code
for
their
vaccine,
part
of
the
safe
program,
our
businesses
in
boston
equipped.
I
don't
know-
and
forgive
me
if
you've
talked
about
this
already
this
week,
but
do
they
scan
the
qr
code
and
something
pops
up
or
are
they
just
looking
to
see
that
you
have
one
that
matches
your
name?
How
does
that
process
work.
B
Our
goal
was
to
make
sure
this
would
be
as
seamless
and
low
barrier
as
possible
for
our
small
business
owners
to
implement,
and
so
we
have,
we
require
only
proof
of
vaccination
that
can
be
in
any
form
that
you
show
it,
whether
it
is
the
states
app
whether
it's
the
cities
app,
which
is
a
little
bit
more
of
a
simplified
version
of
it,
whether
it
is
a
your
physical
card,
your
actual
vaccination
card,
a
picture
of
the
card
on
your
phone,
any
form
of
vaccination
works.
B
The
city
did
release
our
own
app,
which
is
a
little
bit
different
from
the
states
and
similar
to
some
that
other
cities
have
implemented.
The
state's
app
is
great
because
it
is
a
high
security.
You
know
intended
for
getting
on
an
airplane
and
proof.
There's
it's
quite
involved
in
some
ways,
and
so
it'll
be
very
useful
for
a
variety
of
situations
where
you
need
that
full
legal
documentation,
the
city's
app
is
meant
to
be
an
even
simpler
version
to
access
where
you
can
essentially
keep
your
a
photo
of
your
card
stored
right
through
that
app.
B
The
cities
app,
I
think,
it's
it's
called
our
be
together
app
and
yes,.