Mayor Wu Visits Tufts Medical Center, Urges Vaccination as Omicron Strains Hospitals

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Mayor Michelle Wu toured Tufts Medical Center with City Council President Ed Flynn to spotlight omicron-era strain on Boston's healthcare workforce. The delegation visited the medical ICU, emergency department, and walk-in testing site, where hospital leadership described a "day-to-day, hour-to-hour management crisis" combining COVID surges, severe staff shortages, and deferred non-COVID care. Wu said the vast majority of intensive hospitalizations involve unvaccinated residents, calling current conditions "completely preventable." The city's "Be Together" vaccine-verification program — requiring proof of vaccination to enter indoor restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues — was set to take effect the following Friday. Wu also disclosed that roughly 3,000 Boston Public Schools staff were out that day, including approximately 650 teachers, with Superintendent Brenda Casselius pulled into a classroom herself; Wu said DESE's prohibition on remote learning even amid staffing shortages is a policy the city intends to keep challenging.