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Massachusetts hospitals, which are once again facing critical staffing and bed shortages, will soon be limiting non-essential pre-scheduled procedures to preserve resources and capacity.

“The current strain on hospital capacity is due to longer than average hospital stays and significant workforce shortages, separate and apart from the challenges brought on by COVID,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders in a statement.

Countries in the Northern Hemisphere are facing an unpredictable winter as COVID-19 continues to spread during the flu season, experts have warned.

Last year, when governments recommended a range of protective measures such as mask-wearing, social distancing and lockdowns to slow COVID-19 infections, the number of influenza cases dropped dramatically compared with the seasonal average.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a multitude of problems long lingering in the healthcare system: staffing shortages, racial inequities, increasing mental health needs, lack of access, lack of funding, rising costs, mistrust in the medical establishment. And there are concerns the system is increasingly being structured to limit exposure for insurers, rather than primarily serving the patients or providers. The sheer number of issues is daunting, yet areas can be addressed without breaking the bank.

A perfect storm is brewing in the world of medicine, as the wave of an aging population collides with a shortfall of future surgeons.

Yet, the vascular surgery specialty in Central Massachusetts is breaking this troubling trend with technological innovation.

WORCESTER — In the bay outside the crowded emergency department of UMass Memorial Medical Center, the ambulances keep coming.

Just inside the doors, a pair of paramedics wait with their patient, an elderly woman on a stretcher.

Nov 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines for all adults six months after having been fully vaccinated with the shots from either Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and partner BioNTech SE or Moderna Inc (MRNA.O).

RUTLAND, Mass. - COVID-19 vaccination eligibility is expanding in Massachusetts. Anyone 18 and older can now receive a booster shot. Meanwhile, younger kids are getting their first doses of the vaccine. 

Nine-year old Isaac Tsai is getting his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. “It means I’ll be more safe from the coronavirus," Issac, who received the Pfizer vaccine, said. 

Dr. Eric Dickson, CEO of UMass Memorial Health in Worcester, on the rise in Covid cases and hospitalizations.

Massachusetts hospitals continue to face bed space issues this fall as a worrisome winter looms, the head of the state hospital association said Friday.

“Capacity remains a serious challenge within hospitals and ICUs across Massachusetts, and they are each preparing for what will likely be yet another difficult winter,” said Steve Walsh, president and chief executive of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association.