Em Moulton, a public health nurse with Northampton DHHS, updated the board on seasonal respiratory illness and vaccine outreach at the Jan. 15 meeting.

Moulton said the division ran multiple COVID and flu clinics across the community this season with targeted outreach to people 65 and older, residents in pharmacy‑desert towns and homebound individuals. She reported that homebound recipients received 91 doses through outreach efforts. On vaccination rates she stated that, "as of January 2026," Massachusetts vaccination rates were (as stated in the briefing) roughly 11.5% for COVID and 34.8% for flu, while Northampton's flu vaccination rate was reported at 46%.

On respiratory illness trends, Moulton said influenza emergency‑department visits have been very high statewide while RSV and COVID remain low. She told the board there have been 66 flu deaths this season (62 adults and four pediatric deaths), and that "all 4 pediatric patients were unvaccinated." The board asked clarifying questions about those pediatric deaths and the statewide figures, which staff affirmed came from state reports.

Meredith O'Leary reported that she participated in a measles tabletop exercise at Smith College and cited the CDC figure that the U.S. reported 2,242 confirmed measles cases in 2025, the highest number in more than 30 years, and cautioned that sustained transmission could threaten the country's elimination status.

O'Leary also announced DHHS will offer mini‑grants funded by opioid‑settlement money to support prevention, overdose risk reduction and recovery services; applications will be available online and by mail. She described local awards made last year and said the department is working to get funds out to community partners.

Finally, staff described a new volunteer‑run emergency winter shelter, the Trinity Room at Saint John's Church, which opens based on a local temperature threshold (15°F threshold cited) and operates with coordinated referrals through community partners; the shelter had opened for several nights and served around 10 residents on most nights during the first openings.

What happens next: DHHS will publicize grant application details, continue vaccine outreach and monitoring of respiratory illness indicators, and share findings from the measles preparedness exercise with local partners.