Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | Janaury 25, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 21 Massachusetts needs to recruit a vaccination army V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L UMass is now testing this effort in Worcester, and if it is successful, the state should consider implementing the plan widely as soon as possible. To date, America's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been mismanaged and uneven, at best. Now with the solution of a vaccine at our doorstep, we continue to trip up in the execution phase, with a slow vaccine rollout. With hospitals in many states strained beyond capacity, more than 400,000 Americans dead, and a new variant of the virus spreading the disease quicker, now is the time for bold, fresh ideas. We can't have any further delays in achieving herd immunity. ere is too much at stake. With the incoming President Joe Biden Administration, fresh resources will be brought to bear to accelerate testing and tracing programs, as well as new plans for mass inoculations. Right now, only about 40% of the available U.S. vaccines have been administered, although the number is closer to 70% in Massachusetts. So we're already delivering better than most states. However until we can achieve herd immunity, get people comfortable resuming their pre-pandemic lives, and finally getting the economy humming again, we need to double down on delivering vaccines in arms. A myriad of reasons led to the country falling woefully behind in administering available vaccines, but moving forward, one of the reasons shouldn't be a lack of healthcare professionals available to give the inoculations to willing and eligible patients. Collins and Meehan at UMass should be applauded for their innovative – albeit somewhat obvious – solution to training more people for this all-important task. e pandemic has wrought havoc for businesses and their workers, taken a toll on people's mental health, and been a major drain on our economy. is only ends when we reach herd immunity, and for that to happen ASAP, we need a vaccination army. The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Brad Kane, editor, at bkane@wbjournal.com. Small business relief must focus on actual small businesses W hen hearing the term "small business," you proba- bly envision a decades-old hardware store or that North End restaurant you order takeout from once a week. However, other small business owners and I are finding out the hard way there is an exploitive gulf between ours and the government's definitions being used to protect and save them. As I write this, I'm feeling the same frustration as I work nonstop to guide my company through another set of small business relief funding, which defines small businesses as any com- pany making less than $100 million annually. It reminds me of the ridicu- lous lengths I had to take during the last round of the Payroll Protection Program to secure funding for my 10-employee business. In the decades ago that was May 2020, I checked my messages every hour. I had submitted our PPP application on the first day of the first round of funding to Bank of America. Next, the teeth-grinding process of information requests and asking for updates. Finally, we got confirma- tion our application was accepted. In the weeks of silence to follow, all calls and emails triggered automated responses conveying no one was available to talk to us. It took intervention from our state's government delega- tion (a deputy director from Congressman Jim McGovern) to break this stonewall and get a Bank of America vice president to take accountability and get our PPP application processed. So why were mine and so many other actual small businesses at the bottom of that queue? Why were we the face of the funding but not the recipients of the relief ? It comes down to the definitions of small businesses and the favoritism banks – notably Bank of America, which is now facing multiple lawsuits – have shown to the biggest of small businesses. ose with connections, full-time staff, and more favorable loan sizes made out the best, talking to bank VPs without having to beg for government assistance. e gap between a small business at the top of that food chain and what you and I support as small businesses – the restaurant on the corner, the mom-and-pop retailer, the women's boutique – is insurmountable. ey don't stand a chance against a multi-state, 400+ staff corporation, with a well-connected millionaire CEO. Small businesses are dying, and the relief supposedly be- ing set aside for them is beyond reach. We need to redefine small companies and make sure when we offer them safety nets like the PPP, and that it's for them, first and foremost. To first access and apply, to first speak to a live human about their applications, and to first be processed and funded. e term small business has always been subjective. Now it feels like a catchphrase evoking a vision of that local hardware store, but really what it means is much larger businesses are competing for the same dollars. Change the definition and get the security nets in place for the smallest of businesses, not those too big or well connected to fail. Julia Becker Collins is the chief operating officer at Westborough digital marketing agency Vision Advertising. BY JULIA BECKER COLLINS Special to the Worcester Business Journal Julia Becker Collins W W "Perhaps it is up to the citizens of Worcester to decide if this Central Big Dig project should continue." – Ted Strzelecki, Jan. 13, responding to Worcester City Councilor Gary Rosen's saying he was relieved the city did not listen to Polar Park's critics while moving the project forward "It happens." – Paul Gallagher III, Jan. 8, responding to news that the cost of building Polar Park has risen to $157 million "Curious as to how it's going to pay for itself? 2020 was a complete loss for most, and I for one will never set foot in the facility. When I can spend a beautiful summer evening at whichever home the Bravehearts call it in 2021 and beyond. " – Rick Landry (@r14landry), Jan. 10, commenting on increased costs associated with building Polar Park "Gotta be a good omen if @BTSmokehouse opening in Worcester is #4 on @WBJournal's - 10 most read stories of 2020." – Matthew Noe (@NoetheMatt), Jan. 5, responding to a list of WBJ's most-read articles of 2020 WO R D F R O M T H E W E B Facebook feedback Tweets of the Week E arlier this month, UMass officials led by UMass Medical School Chancellor Dr. Michael Collins and system President Marty Meehan proposed the state should partner with schools to build a program recruiting nursing and medical students to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. is group, led by UMass students, could then go around the state training others and speed up the distribution and delivery of the roughly 10 million vaccine doses the state will need for its adult population.

• Cover