COVID cases on the rise again in Brockton

BROCKTON, Mass. — Kristine Heap leads the COVID response team in Brockton.

“There’s a couple things that are happening right now; testing numbers are going down and the cases are going up,” Heap said.

Talking to those resistant to getting a COVID-19 vaccine has been a challenge at work and at home.

“I was visiting my cousin and my aunt in Florida, and I had my mask on. I said, ‘did you get vaccinated?’ She said no. I said, ‘can you tell me why? Let’s talk about it.’ She said, ‘I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to do it,’” Heap said.

Then, a trip to the casino. Four days later a positive COVID test.

“She ended up going to the hospital, ended up in the ICU and died on my birthday on August 10,” Heap said.

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The percentage of those who tested positive by the Neighborhood Health Center has tripled in a month. Back in June, they had a rate of 0.0. Reversing that trend, or at least slowing it down, is the mission right now.

“Right now, what we are focused on is we want to get people tested, we want to get people vaccinated. We have vaccines, we have free testing, we have a trailer that you can come into. Stop the spread, you don’t get charged for it,” Heap said.

Holly Bartlett has seen what a COVID vaccine can do to protect those she loves.

“Ironically my son is home with COVID right now. He is doing well, superman, and he was vaccinated, which is a good thing. So, his symptoms are mild, which is a great thing,” Bartlett said.

She hopes others will hear her story and take their own action towards protection.

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