Health Care

Just fewer than 1,000 executive branch employees have left their jobs because they did or would not comply with Gov. Charlie Baker's vaccine mandate for public employees, including 656 people whose departures were involuntary.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced on Wednesday the launch of a new public awareness campaign aimed at promoting state tools to help residents quit smoking and vaping nicotine products.

More than 2 million Massachusetts residents have received vaccine boosters to add to their protection against COVID-19, but as the omicron variant continues to drive rapid spread, some public health experts warn that the Baker administration has not done enough to get additional shots into arms.

The City of Worcester reported 923 new positive cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, setting a new single-day case count record.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has halved its recommended quarantine time to five days for those who have COVID-19 but are asymptomatic, the federal agency announced on Monday.

A new analysis of Mass General Brigham's proposed clinics in Westwood, Woburn and Westborough predicts that the sites will result in a "small overall decrease" in health care spending for the services they would offer.

The University of Massachusetts system, which includes UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, is requiring all its students, faculty, and staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine booster, according to a Tuesday press release from UMass.

On Monday, Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester reopened 12 inpatient behavioral health beds, as the hospital prepares to welcome back nurses who have been striking since March, according to a press release from the hospital.

Mustang Bio, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based in Worcester, has been added to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, a market-cap weighted index designed to track the performance of biotech and pharmaceutical companies listed on the stock market, according to a Dec. 16 press release from the company.

A clinical trial for ALS research led by two UMass Chan Medical School doctors has shown significant progress in suppressing the most commonly mutated ALS gene, according to an announcement from the Angel Fund for ALS Research.