February 26, 2025 • 39 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
New Guidelines Released to Govern Self-Collection for HPV Screening & The Importance of HPV Screening. What is HPV & How Do You Get It? Rebecca Perkins - MD, Obstetrician and Gynecologist and Investigator at the Mother-Infant Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center explained it to Dan.
Award-winning Irish band Lúnasa to play in Somerville on March 8! Kevin Crawford - Flute player, considered one of Ireland’s greatest flute players checked in with Dan.
Clinical Advisory Issued Over Neurological Complications Tied To Flu. Alison Kuznitz – State House News Reporter shared the details.
POLLING: Bay Staters Not Sweet on Taxing Candy. Christopher R. Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council—one of the co-organizers of the Mass Opportunity Alliance joined Dan.
Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the new iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!
New Guidelines Released to Govern Self-Collection for HPV Screening & The Importance of HPV Screening. What is HPV & How Do You Get It? Rebecca Perkins - MD, Obstetrician and Gynecologist and Investigator at the Mother-Infant Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center explained it to Dan.
Award-winning Irish band Lúnasa to play in Somerville on March 8! Kevin Crawford - Flute player, considered one of Ireland’s greatest flute players checked in with Dan.
Clinical Advisory Issued Over Neurological Complications Tied To Flu. Alison Kuznitz – State House News Reporter shared the details.
POLLING: Bay Staters Not Sweet on Taxing Candy. Christopher R. Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council—one of the co-organizers of the Mass Opportunity Alliance joined Dan.
Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the new iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Nightside with Dan Ray on WBZY, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Thank Nicole here. We are halfway through the week. My
name is Dan Ray, host of Nightside. I'm here. I've
been here all week. Guess who's back at Broadcast Central,
Rob Brooks after having recovered from a couple of days
under the weather. Nothing serious, are you, Rob brook fans?
Rob Brooks fans out there, He's going to be just fine.
(00:27):
We've talked a little bit before the show. He's ready
to go, so he'll take care of everybody beginning at
nine o'clock and tonight, we are going to spend some
time talking about utility bills through the roof here in Massachusetts.
And also egg prices, as Marita wrote today, are not
so egg scelent right now if you get our drifts.
(00:49):
So we'll talk a lot of home economics. But first
we're going to talk with four guests. I hope for
at least three guests, having a little trouble reaching one
of them, but that's okay, that sometimes happens. I'm going
to start off with doctor Rebecca Perkins. Doctor Perkins is
an obstetrician and gynecologist as well as an investigator at
(01:10):
the Mother Infant Research Institute at Tuft's Medical Center at
Doctor Perkins. Welcome to Night's side. I never realized there
was a Mother Infant Research Institute at Tough's Medical Tell
us about it.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yes, so it is a precach institute that focuses on
women's health and obstetrics and gynecology.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, you're the perfect person for that. I think there's
no question about that. We're going to talk about some
new guidelines that have been released, and this is where
I get a little confused to govern self collection for
HPV screening and the importance of HPV screening. Now I
(01:53):
have a sense of what HPV screening is, but there's
probably many an areadys who have never heard of it,
and maybe you would be kind enough to break it
into language that those of us who are not in
the medical community I can understand.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Sure, absolutely, So this is a form of screening for
cervical cancer. So every woman and person with a cervix
who's between the ages of twenty one and sixty five
should be regularly screening for cervical cancer because that's the
kind of cancer that we know exactly what causes it,
and we know exactly how to prevent it. And so
(02:36):
since screening was introduced in the nineteen fifties, cervical cancer
rates have dropped by over eighty percent. And so most
people are familiar with being screened with the paps mirror.
But now we know that pretty much all, almost one
(02:56):
hundred percent of cervical cancers are caused by HPV or
human papaloma virus, and so screening is moving away from
using the pap smear and towards using actually testing for
HPV itself.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So so when you when someone and I know there
was some controversy as to what age women would begin
to do the HPV testing, that's a test that women
can start even when we would consider them to be
(03:34):
more more girl age of being a girl.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Correct, HPV testing should start around age twenty five.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Oh okay, okay, fair enough, Okay, So was it the age.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
You might be thinking of HPV vaccination and that's recommended
for boys and girls between the ages of nine and twelve.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Gotcha, Okay, so this is called and again what I'm
confused about is here it says that nine months after
the US Food and Drug Administration, which is you know,
confusing approved self collected human papalomavirus HPV testing as an
(04:15):
alternate method of cervical cancer screening. The first ever guidelines
have been released, So walk us through this. The tests
for women who said twenty five to sixty five should
I done in doctors' offices with the assistance of doctors.
(04:39):
You know, again, we're just I'm trying to make sure everyone.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Understands this absolutely. So up until this point, whether someone
was getting a PAP smear or an HPV test or both,
it was done by the doctor or nurse practitioner, the clinician,
and it was you know, an exam with the speculum
of pelvic exam. But now someone has the opportunity to
(05:08):
do it themselves with a little swab that they insert
themselves and then that swab is tested, so they don't
actually have to have an exam by a doctor or
medical professional in order to do the test. The test
is still done in the doctor's office because it's a
laboratory sample that has to go get tested, but the
(05:30):
person doesn't necessarily have to have an exam by the
doctor in order to have the test done. And that's
the big sort of change here, is that someone can
do the test themselves instead of having it done by
the doctor.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Okay, So as long as the individual, the woman in
this case, a woman up between twenty five and sixty five,
does the test properly, the government is very certain that
those test results will be as accurate as if they
(06:04):
had been done by been conducted either by a physician
or a physician's assistant or a nurse. Is what I
think I'm hearing you say.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Yes, So, there have been a lot of studies looking
at how well the result of someone doing the test
themselves matches with the result from the doctor, and they
match very very well. So that's why this test has
been approved for use. The big difference is that if
(06:38):
the test is positive, so if someone has an HPV infection,
if it's if it's a test that they did themselves,
they'll have to go back to their doctor to get
a PAPS mirror. And if it's a test that the
doctor did, then that perhaps mere result already be there
(07:01):
so they won't have to necessarily go back again. So
it can save a lot of people from having to
get an exam of their doctor. But if the HPV
test is positive, they will need to go back and
get that passmear.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
What percentage of HPV tests are.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Positive about between ten to twenty percent, okay?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
And how long does the papaloma virus remain? Meaning, in
other words, when most of us think of a virus,
to think, Okay, I got a virus on Tuesday and
by Sunday, I'm over it. If young, if women young
or old or older are doing tests on themselves, once
(07:52):
the HPV is present, does it not go away? Is
that the danger that basically a person's walking around for
some length of time with this papaloma virus is that Again,
I don't want to sound dumb here, but I'm a guy,
so I'm trying to make sure I understand the parameter
(08:15):
is here. I assume that these tests are done what.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Annually, so if it's negative, it's actually done once every
three years. And if it's positive, then someone would go
and get the appropriate follow up and it would be
done more often. But you know, we call it human
papillomavirus because pretty much everyone who's a human man or
woman will be exposed to this virus at some point
(08:41):
during their lives. And that's why it's so important for
women to get tested repeatedly to make sure that they're
not at risk for cervical cancer. If someone tests positive,
usually the immune system controls the virus over a couple
of years, so it's not like you'll get it on
(09:02):
Sunday and it's gone by Tuesday. It's you know, you'll
get it in twenty twenty two and hopefully it's gone
by twenty twenty four. But it can and then sometimes
come back later on. So a new diagnosis of a
new positive HPV test doesn't mean that it's a new infection.
(09:23):
It could be an old infection that has come out again.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Okay, And then men can can carry this infection and
in fact, you know, contribute to the infection of their partner,
I assume. But this is not nearly as dangerous a
virus to men as it is to women, is what
(09:47):
I'm hearing.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Well, it it.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Is because HPV can cause six different types of cancer,
and the most common HPV related can answer in the
United States right now is actually cancer of the base
of tongue and tonsles, and that is more common in
men than in women.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
The problem with that cancer is we don't have a
way to screen for it and prevent it. So the
cervical cancer, we know how to prevent it. So with
screening and vaccination, we can prevent cervical cancer. But with
the tongue and tonsile cancers, vaccination should prevent them, but
we don't have a way to screen for them.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Okay, this is very, very complicated, and I hope that
it's going to at least cause people to think and
also maybe do a little bit more research on their
own as well. This is a I've learned a lot
in this interview. To be honest with you, some of
it is unsettling. But I think it's better to be
unsettled than to be ignorant. So I thank you very
(10:54):
much for your time tonight on this.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Oh you're welcome. Yes, I would say, if there's one
take home message for women, it's see your doctor and
make sure you get screened.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, and can folks get more information? Is there a
website that you can refer people to? Again, I don't
want people calling you on the phone tomorrow say I
heard you on Night Side last night. I got a
couple of questions.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I think the American Cancer Society has very good information
on HPV and cervical cancer screening.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Great, well, thank you very much for your time. Thank
you very much. Doctor Rebecca Perkins an obstetrician and gynecologist
as well as an investigator at the Mother Infant Research
Institute at Tough Medical Center. So appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Thank you very much, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Good night. When we get back, we will have another guest.
I'm not sure what the lineup is here, so I'm
not going to mention who will the next guest, but
you're going to have to hold on in breathless anticipation.
In the meantime, remind you that you can get the
iHeart app. It's a new iHeart app. Very easily get
(12:05):
your new iHeart app, and you also can use it
heaven as a preset, so that way you'll never miss
an edition of Nightside and you'll always be there on
iHeart listening to WBZ twenty four to seven, three and
sixty five days a year. We'll be back with our
next guest in this edition of Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Well, we're only a couple of days away from March,
and of course the big event in March for most
of us here in Boston, whether we're Irish or not,
is Saint Patrick's Day on March seventeenth, and all sorts
of events leading up to Saint Patrick's Day. We are
joined tonight by a member of an award winning Irish band.
The band is pronounced Lenoosa. They will be playing in
(12:59):
Somerville on March eighth, and with us is one of
the members of that band, Kevin Crawford. He's a flute player,
considered one of Ireland's greatest flute players. Kevin, Welcome to
night Side.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
How are you, sir, Good evening, Dan, how are you?
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
I'm doing just great. I'm a Corkman. I am of
Irish descent. My family grew up in the town of Mallow,
about ten about twenty minutes north of Cork City on
the Blackwater River. And I do not know what the
word lunusa means in Gaelic. I assume it's a Gaelic word.
(13:35):
Can you give us, first of all, a meaning for
the word lanusa?
Speaker 5 (13:39):
I can, and I can correct you on the pronunciation
as well. It's lunasas lunasa. YEA lunasa would be the
Irish kind of way we'd pronounce it, but we we
answer to anything, then we're good. You can you can
chop it up and spit it out whatever you want.
We'll still will still talk to you.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So what my question is, does it is there some
derivation when I see the letters l u n a
I'm thinking of the Latin that meaning the moon tell
us what Lunasa in Gaelic.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Yes, I mean it's all related to that whole kind
of moon sun kind of stuff. But Lunasa the way
we spell it, the way the Irish spell it for
that particular l u n a s a that's the
Irish for the month of Aust.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
And then.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I missed it. You broke up on me there, Kevin.
For a second, that's Irish. That's Gaelic for what the
month of what?
Speaker 7 (14:42):
August?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
August? Oh? Interesting, interesting, okay, but you're here.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
So.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
Sorry. It's also the name of a one of the
the pagan festivals that would have happened in Ireland in
the just preach calendar days, So you had Lunus swyn
Baltan and there were four different festivals, and Lunas was
the harvest festival, so it's kind of tied in with
the month of August. The harvest, the sun and all
(15:14):
of those lovely things that make it kind of a
very special.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Those Celtic pagans, they were kind of a wild bunch,
and thank god Saint Patrick came to save us, that's
for sure. You were a flute player. How does one
become a flute player? I know the answer is probably
with a lot of practice. But you would drawn, I
assume to music, and that became the instrument that you've mastered.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Well, I mean, the simple answer is that I was
actually drawn to Irish music, and there was a lot
of Irish been played, you know, both through visiting musicians
to our house and then you know Ricardo LPs and
Irish radio and all of that stuff that would be played.
But I just knew that I loved the sound of
(16:03):
It's a combination of fiddle and flute, and I didn't
really know which one was better than the other. And
I dabbled on the fiddle initially because violins are fiddles
were easy to get hold, easier to get hold of
than Irish flutes there are quite difficult to get and
they're very different to a classical flute, where a fiddle
(16:24):
is the same as a violin. If you get my meaning.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
But so I just started on the fiddle, and I
soon realized, and to the delight of my parents as well,
that the fiddle wasn't going.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
To be the instrument for me because I was making
some terrible noises for a couple of years with that thing.
Speaker 7 (16:42):
I can't understand.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I couldn't understand that.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
Easy to move. It was easy to move on to
the flute because in Ireland everybody learns the penny whistle.
Speaker 7 (16:55):
As a child.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
So so the next kind the level up from that,
the next kind of logical step would be the flute.
Are the Irish types because they have a similar kind
of fingering, you know. So that's that's kind of it.
And I just kept hunting and wishing and asking and
begging and burrowing flutes, and then eventually I got one
(17:18):
when I was sixteen.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
So so how much how much does your band travel?
You're going to be here in Somerville and marsh eighth.
Do you come across the pond often? Are you based
in Ireland? Do you do a lot of half and half?
Speaker 5 (17:34):
Yeah? Yeah, So it's two three of the members of
the band live in the US and three lived in Ireland,
so I live currently in upstate New York. Our piper
lives in New York City, and our film player lives
in Florida. So it's they're the three kind of melody
(17:55):
players and we're all based here. And then you've got
our guitarist, double bass player. We also have a singer
for this tour for the night in Boston, so they're
all based in Ireland yet.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
So let's get to the most important information. Although this
has been great background in biographical information. So you will
be appearing at the Somerville Theater on Saturday, March eighth
at seven pm.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Yes, and it's a welcome return for us to the
Somerville Theater. We've we've played there since we started them
in the bands together since nineteen ninety seven, so we've
been playing in Somerville for a man eas a long day,
but we haven't played Somerville's theater, funny enough, for probably
six or seven years. We started doing other shows in
(18:44):
and around Boston. But it's really really exciting to be
going back to the Somerville because that's where we cut
our teeth back in the early naughties, you know.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So this is again Saturday, March eighth at seven and
tickets are available. I assume by content. I'm looking at
my notes here and I don't see. Normally we can
uh push people towards where they can get the tickets. Uh,
they they get them.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Well, if they go to our website, there'll be a
link from there. So that's Lunasa band dot I e
u O lunasaband dot com. I sis so okay, lunasaband
dot com and there'll be the full tour and all
the links from there are go directly to the Summerville Theater.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I imagine that.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yeah, perfect, perfect, Well that's a great way to uh
to bring in the month of March, of course, which
means springtime and shamrocks in Saint Patrick's Day March eighth. Uh.
If if I wasn't committed to doing something that night
in Boston, I would have been there myself in the audience.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
So I have to you want to come down to
see us, We'll have to celebrate Mallow and Kark another
another time.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, you're on a corkman, are you.
Speaker 7 (19:56):
I'm not.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
I'm very close though I'm from County Clare. I'm just
too country.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Oh, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
I holiday all the time down in Westcark, so I'm
a big fan, a big fan.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Yeah, all right, Well, thank you much, Kevin Crawford. I
appreciate the time. The band is called Lunasta and they
are going to be in Somerville in Somemmerville at the
Somerville Theater on Saturday night, March eighth, at seven o'clock.
Thanks so much, Kevin. I enjoyed the conversation. Hope to
meet you up good. Thank you much.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
Oh, thanks so much, man, thanks really welcome.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
When we get back, we're going to first of all,
taking a break for the news at the bottom of
they are a couple of minutes late, apologize for that.
And we're going to talk about the flu, which has
been rampant around these parts in the last few weeks.
And there are some serious complications from the flu that
we're going to talk about with Alison Quiznitz, she's a
(20:50):
State House reporter. Back on Nightside right after.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
This, It's night Side, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Well, I think most of us either have had something
like the flu or know someone in our family who
has had something like the flu. In the last few weeks.
It seemed to kind of, I guess, pop up around
these parts and sometime in December with us is a
State House news reporter, Alison Kusnitz, and Alison has a
(21:22):
lot of information for US here on flu complications, particularly
in children that has triggered a state advisory. Alison, Welcome
to Nightside. How are you?
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Thank you?
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Thanks for having me well.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Always great to have one of the State House news reporters.
When I was a television reporter many years ago, spent
a lot of time hanging out at the State House.
I hope that they have a State House News reporter
room now, which is better than what it was twenty
or so years ago. But we'll leave that for another conversation.
It probably is the same. So I caught something the
(21:57):
week of Christmas and it was rough. It was upper
respiratorium bronchitis, and it stayed away, and it stayed with
me and I had this horrible cough. Is that the
stuff that's going around or is it a different type
of flu?
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Well, So there are a number of illnesses going around. Recently,
the Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein had talked
about that Massachusetts was seeing a peak in the flu,
but other viruses, other respiratory viruses were actually on the decline,
but he had said at a Public Health Council meeting
earlier this month that Massachusetts had hit a peak that
was actually surpassed the past five flu seasons, And just
(22:36):
looking at the state's dashboard right now is pretty consistent
with what the Commissioner was talking about just a few
weeks ago. That's the estimated severity of flu throughout Massachusetts.
So in really every county that they're tracking, it's very
high rate of blue circulating right now.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
So it's still still here. We are at the end
of February, the last week of February, the last couple
of days of February, and it's still the interes what
the tracking is still increasing.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Yeah, so this severity of the flu is increasing. Are
there does seem to be some improvements with some of
the metrics from the Department of Health. Some of this
data is not perfectly updated. I believe the most recent
data from DPH right now was from February twentieth. They
are showing DPH data is showing there has been some
decrease and the number of influenza like illness, business and
(23:25):
also hospitalizations associated with influenza, but the numbers continue to
be extremely high compared to the benchmark that health officials
are using.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Okay, so now the problem here is that this is
a flu, but it also apparently has some complications that
are neurological. That sounds to me like something that people
should pay attention to. What does that all mean realistically?
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Sure, So the Department of Public Health put out a
clinical advisory February fourteenth that has been circulating more and
so basically, Department Public Health officials send out this notice
wanting to let providers clinicians know that they're seeing a
possible increase in children with neurological complications that could be
associated with them also having the flu. Dph said that
(24:13):
this could really be They're not quite sure why they're
seeing this possible increase. They're saying it could simply be
a matter of because flu activity is so high, therefore
they're seeing a higher number of people with neurological complications.
But they're also saying that, you know, kids that already
had pre existing neurological conditions, or kids that are not
vaccinated against the flu might have be a greater risk
(24:37):
of developing some of these neurologic complications. Health officials said
that seizure would be one of the most common types
of complications, and then you could also see situations like
brain inflammation other conditions with This.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Sounds very serious when you're talking about the seizure or
brain inflammation. Is that something that normally can be associated
with the flu? I mean, I know the flu is miserable,
don't get me wrong, but I didn't realize that particularly
within children. Is it more common in children than adults
(25:12):
that these neurological I think complications are appearing?
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Sure, I think officials are saying they're also not sure
if maybe it's this type of strain of the flu
that is causing the complications, or if it's this category
of children that happen to be a greater risk. Right now,
health officials said that people that do have these neurological conditions,
they're not necessarily going to be chronic conditions. But health
(25:39):
officials also said that that children that do end up
with these neurological complications are going to see higher or
longer lens to day in it, and they have a
higher excuse me, a longer length of stay in hospitals,
and they have a higher chance of being admitted to
the ICU Wow.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
This is pretty scary. So one of the things I
guess that parents need to think more seriously about is
it's not too late I guess to get a flu
shat for yourself or for your kids.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Correct, sure, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
One of the key recommendations in this clinical advisory is
that children ages six months and older should be vaccinated
if they're not already. And actually the number of people
vaccinated in Massachusetts, it's just thirty eight percent or about
thirty nine percent of Massachusetts residents are vaccinated against the
blue so DPA because that's about two out of five
(26:34):
residents who are vaccinated. That number doesn't necessarily differentiate between
adults and children, but there's definitely a lot of improvement
for folks who could be getting vaccinated against the blue.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Well. It's interesting, you know, when COVID was ongoing and
there was a lot of controversy about vaccinations and compulsory
vaccinations versus you know, accepting vaccinate excinations voluntarily, and they
would tie to people maintaining in some cases maintaining their jobs.
(27:07):
I think that there was a lot of skepticism that developed,
and I'm surprised that the vaccination level is that low
here in Massachusetts, because I think Massachusetts is a I
use the word progressive, not in a political sense, but
in that we have a high degree of medical personnel here,
medical institutions. The fact that only thirty six or thirty
(27:29):
eight percent of people in Massachusetts vaccinated against the flu
that surprises me as the number. Does it surprise you
as well?
Speaker 4 (27:37):
I think it does. I think it definitely leads room
to wonder what other public awareness campaigns public health officials
could have done. I know that a number of healthcare
organizations earlier in the flu season did put out a
lot of public messaging really urging people to get their
flu shots, saying that these flu shots are really widely available,
whether it's not your doctor office or doctor's offices or
(27:58):
local pharmacies. But it is surprising to see such a
low number, especially when we see you know, RSV other
respiratory illnesses also really heading mass to Judas residence this season.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
I'm wondering if there's not a little bit of a
backlash against some of the mandatory COVID vaccinations that are
still for people's minds, and if there wasn't some some
harm done to sort of like the psyche of a
lot of people, and that I mean, I'm somebody who
has I get all my vaccinations because I just happen
(28:30):
to believe in vaccinations. But there's a substantial number of
people in this country have become very skeptical and that
that that is worrisome, you know, and I think it's
always easier to convince rather than compel people to do anything,
just from a philosophical point of view. Allison, I really
enjoyed the conversation. You sound like a great state House
(28:52):
News report, thorough direct, Thank you so much for this information.
I look forward to having you on again. If we
have ever ever had the asus you're having you on
before now.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
I really appreciate it. Would be happy to come back
any time.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, was this your first appearance on on Night Side
We do four? Well you did great. You're exceptionable. I
mean that seriously. There are are state House News reporters
every all our guests are great, but you're exceptional, very
thorough and very responsive. I really enjoyed the conversation. Thanks, Alison.
We'll talk again talking about compulsory things. There's a new
(29:33):
poll out that base stats are not too sweet on
taxing candy. We're going to talk with Chris Anderson, he's
the president of the Massachusetts High Tech Council's council, about
the possibility that your candy could be taxed. Just remember
in Massachusetts they only tax two things, anything that moves
and anything that doesn't move. We'll be back with Chris
(29:54):
Anderson right after this break.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Now back to Dan Way live from the Window World
Nights Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Delighted to be joined by Chris Anderson. Christopher Anderson, president
of the Massachusetts High Tech Council, but he's also one
of the organizers of a group called the Massachusetts Opportunity Alliance,
and they have been doing some polling on how base
Staters feel about taxing our candy, our chocolate bars, we
(30:26):
got walllipops. It turns out the base Staters are not
too sweet on that idea. Christopher Anderson, Welcome back to
night'sat How are you good?
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Intro?
Speaker 7 (30:35):
It's great to be with you, Dan, Always a pleasure,
you bet you so.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Tell us about the mass Opportunity Alliance. Is this a
subsidiary of the Massachusetts High Tech Council or is this
a separate organization that you're involved with as well.
Speaker 7 (30:51):
Yeah, no, it's a great question. First of all, we
have to start with the fact that there's a deep
correlation between the strength or as as climate and the
quality of life for everybody that lives in works in Massachusetts,
and business leaders across our entire private sector economy have
recognized a big change, a big swing in the pendulum.
(31:12):
Things are getting a lot more challenging, and our workers
and people that live in work across the state are
realizing that the cost of living in Massachusetts are causing
them to rethink whether they stick around here. So what
the Mass Opportunity Alliance is a partnership to sort of
bring together a cross organizational sector of different business leaders
(31:35):
and activate residents and generate some awareness around what these
trends are. And sixty four percent of Massachusetts voters are
not enrolled in either political party, and that's really an
opportunity for us to work through the Mass Opportunity Alliance
to generate some engagement, action, and awareness that we expect
(31:57):
them to be part of the solution as we go forward.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Oh you know, Chris, you've heard me say this if
you listen to my show before that we're lucky in
Massachusetts because the Massachusetts only taxes. Two things here in
Massachusetts anything that moves and anything that doesn't move. And
I don't understand why why our residents are so concerned about,
you know, just another tax here. They're going after my
(32:23):
candy to They're going to have to pry that Hershey's
chocolate bar from my cold, dead hand. I want you
to know that.
Speaker 7 (32:32):
I mean, well, it's an interesting analogy to get people
focused on the tax proposal. So the current budget that
the governor proposed generates another seven percent increase in spending,
but is assuming only a four percent increase in revenue growth.
And within the budget, in addition to the candy tax,
(32:53):
which sixty four percent of voters op pose based on
our polling, there are proposals to raise taxes on vehicles, lodging,
and meals across every city in town in Massachusetts, and
voters are even more opposed to those provisions. So there's
a disconnect between this correlation that business leaders see between
(33:17):
the business climate and quality life and the policy proposals
that elected officials are seen to be focused on. And
we do share some common ground, for example, around housing
and the need to make that more affordable, but in
the middle of that you can't be raising spending in
the state budget and proposing a whole host of new
(33:39):
taxes that will affect different people in different cities and towns.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
Well, sometimes we can't even agree on what the size
of the governor's budget proposal is. So I've seen sixty
two billion, I've seen it as high as sixty six
billion dollars, depending upon how it's calculated. And that's that's
a problem as well, just the whole concept of transparency.
(34:05):
And then the other thing is up at the state House.
They are working, you know, twenty four to seven to
try to get as much money out of people's pockets
as they can. And the average person, the average voter,
the average citizen is working their butt off just to
pay all the taxes. And these folks up at the
(34:26):
state House, they're isolated. They're in this little science lab
of coming up with new taxes. At what point are
the people in Massachusetts going to smarten up and say
enough is enough?
Speaker 7 (34:39):
Well, that's what mass Opportunity is really designed to help achieve,
is a greater awareness among people who don't normally think
of the types of policies that they believe don't affect them.
For example, the syer tax on incomes over a million.
A lot of people just figure, well, that's not me.
I'm not in that category. But look what's happening, Dan saying,
(35:00):
a rapid out migration of high wealth individuals, not just
retirees and those of the highest income brackets, but work
Sixty eight percent of the people that are leaving are
in the working age of between twenty eight and fifty four,
and they're taking you know, decent wage jobs and their families,
(35:21):
and they're moving to lower cost, better quality life states
where they can raise their family and spend their resources.
So that's an important fact that you know doesn't show
up in the policy proposals yet, but it's on the
tip of every business leader's consciousness. And we think we
can help mobilize people who listen to your show, people
(35:44):
who are rank and file across the state with this information.
And the website at Mass Opportunity Alliance has a ton
of this great research data and narrative around what the
trends mean for people like you and me and our neighbors.
And so I would encourage the audience to take a look.
(36:04):
And you know, we've we've done a lot in only
six months. Of MOA being public, and we have a
plan over the next two to six years and beyond
UH to use this vehicle to be proactive in addressing
some of the challenges that we see.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
What's the website because I'm sure some of my listeners
will want to migrate there and maybe join the organization
supported in some way. Is at moa dot com or
is it mass Opportunity Alliance?
Speaker 7 (36:31):
Yeah, Mass Opportunity Alliance dot com, dot org.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
Actually, oh it's a dot org. You should remember that, yeah.
Speaker 7 (36:37):
Dot org.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
Well, and we need more of that in Massachusetts. I
mean the problem, Chris, you and I know it's a
one party state, and whenever there's a one party state,
everything is done behind closed doors. There's no transparency. The
only politician up there who's actually trying to open up
(36:59):
and and shine the light of daylight is the state auditor,
and she's a Democrats.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
Yeah, and quite there are a number of Democrats who
are on both branches that we've been meeting with that
are very interested in and very supportive of our efforts
because they see the trend that nobody wants to talk about.
We have a lot of cheerleaders in Massachusetts that want
to talk about how great team Massachusetts. We have a
(37:33):
lot of assets that no other state has, that's for sure. Whoever,
the people driving the economy, Dan, not the ones in
public policy positions, but the folks driving our economy, our
private sector economy. They're being tapped on the shoulder by
officials in New Hampshire and Florida most successfully every day.
(37:54):
And our employees recognize that they could take the same
job in this mobile economy, relocate and get a raise
without their income going up because their taxes are going
to go down, and we lose that opportunity here in Massachusetts,
and it changes the trajectory. And that's why we're really
(38:14):
focused around the long term and making sure that the
quality of life doesn't deteriorate. But in order for that
to happen, Dan, you've got to assure that we have
a strong, robust business economy that welcomes investment and job creation.
And that's how you grow revenue now couplosing tax rates.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
What I'd love to do is bring you back some
night and do in the long form interview, do an hour,
maybe nine o'clock, and take calls. In this hour, we
do four interviews. There are no callers, but I want
people to have an opportunity to talk with you and
ask you a question. So I'll have my producer get
back in touch with you, and at some point in
the next particularly as we move into the tax season,
(38:55):
when people might be raised in people's minds and as
they say any people that the only thing that attacks
in Massachusetts are things that move and things that don't move.
Speaker 7 (39:04):
And well, you're doing great work, Dan. We appreciate your
good work, and I look forward to coming back and
maybe taking in a Lunas show sometime before then.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Good luck with that as well. Hey, Chris, thanks very much.
We'll talk soon. Okay, take care, bye, Thank you very much.
When we come back tonight, we are going to talk
about the expense of living in Massachusetts, and we're going
to start with utility bills and also going to talk
about egg prices. Things are getting more expensive. It's not
getting any easier for most of you, and this is
(39:37):
an opportunity for you to have your voice heard. We're
coming back on Night's side right after this
It's Nightside with Dan Ray on WBZY, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Thank Nicole here. We are halfway through the week. My
name is Dan Ray, host of Nightside. I'm here. I've
been here all week. Guess who's back at Broadcast Central,
Rob Brooks after having recovered from a couple of days
under the weather. Nothing serious, are you, Rob brook fans?
Rob Brooks fans out there, He's going to be just fine.
(00:27):
We've talked a little bit before the show. He's ready
to go, so he'll take care of everybody beginning at
nine o'clock and tonight, we are going to spend some
time talking about utility bills through the roof here in Massachusetts.
And also egg prices, as Marita wrote today, are not
so egg scelent right now if you get our drifts.
(00:49):
So we'll talk a lot of home economics. But first
we're going to talk with four guests. I hope for
at least three guests, having a little trouble reaching one
of them, but that's okay, that sometimes happens. I'm going
to start off with doctor Rebecca Perkins. Doctor Perkins is
an obstetrician and gynecologist as well as an investigator at
(01:10):
the Mother Infant Research Institute at Tuft's Medical Center at
Doctor Perkins. Welcome to Night's side. I never realized there
was a Mother Infant Research Institute at Tough's Medical Tell
us about it.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yes, so it is a precach institute that focuses on
women's health and obstetrics and gynecology.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, you're the perfect person for that. I think there's
no question about that. We're going to talk about some
new guidelines that have been released, and this is where
I get a little confused to govern self collection for
HPV screening and the importance of HPV screening. Now I
(01:53):
have a sense of what HPV screening is, but there's
probably many an areadys who have never heard of it,
and maybe you would be kind enough to break it
into language that those of us who are not in
the medical community I can understand.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Sure, absolutely, So this is a form of screening for
cervical cancer. So every woman and person with a cervix
who's between the ages of twenty one and sixty five
should be regularly screening for cervical cancer because that's the
kind of cancer that we know exactly what causes it,
and we know exactly how to prevent it. And so
(02:36):
since screening was introduced in the nineteen fifties, cervical cancer
rates have dropped by over eighty percent. And so most
people are familiar with being screened with the paps mirror.
But now we know that pretty much all, almost one
(02:56):
hundred percent of cervical cancers are caused by HPV or
human papaloma virus, and so screening is moving away from
using the pap smear and towards using actually testing for
HPV itself.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So so when you when someone and I know there
was some controversy as to what age women would begin
to do the HPV testing, that's a test that women
can start even when we would consider them to be
(03:34):
more more girl age of being a girl.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Correct, HPV testing should start around age twenty five.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Oh okay, okay, fair enough, Okay, So was it the age.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
You might be thinking of HPV vaccination and that's recommended
for boys and girls between the ages of nine and twelve.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Gotcha, Okay, so this is called and again what I'm
confused about is here it says that nine months after
the US Food and Drug Administration, which is you know,
confusing approved self collected human papalomavirus HPV testing as an
(04:15):
alternate method of cervical cancer screening. The first ever guidelines
have been released, So walk us through this. The tests
for women who said twenty five to sixty five should
I done in doctors' offices with the assistance of doctors.
(04:39):
You know, again, we're just I'm trying to make sure everyone.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Understands this absolutely. So up until this point, whether someone
was getting a PAP smear or an HPV test or both,
it was done by the doctor or nurse practitioner, the clinician,
and it was you know, an exam with the speculum
of pelvic exam. But now someone has the opportunity to
(05:08):
do it themselves with a little swab that they insert
themselves and then that swab is tested, so they don't
actually have to have an exam by a doctor or
medical professional in order to do the test. The test
is still done in the doctor's office because it's a
laboratory sample that has to go get tested, but the
(05:30):
person doesn't necessarily have to have an exam by the
doctor in order to have the test done. And that's
the big sort of change here, is that someone can
do the test themselves instead of having it done by
the doctor.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Okay, So as long as the individual, the woman in
this case, a woman up between twenty five and sixty five,
does the test properly, the government is very certain that
those test results will be as accurate as if they
(06:04):
had been done by been conducted either by a physician
or a physician's assistant or a nurse. Is what I
think I'm hearing you say.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Yes, So, there have been a lot of studies looking
at how well the result of someone doing the test
themselves matches with the result from the doctor, and they
match very very well. So that's why this test has
been approved for use. The big difference is that if
(06:38):
the test is positive, so if someone has an HPV infection,
if it's if it's a test that they did themselves,
they'll have to go back to their doctor to get
a PAPS mirror. And if it's a test that the
doctor did, then that perhaps mere result already be there
(07:01):
so they won't have to necessarily go back again. So
it can save a lot of people from having to
get an exam of their doctor. But if the HPV
test is positive, they will need to go back and
get that passmear.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
What percentage of HPV tests are.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Positive about between ten to twenty percent, okay?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
And how long does the papaloma virus remain? Meaning, in
other words, when most of us think of a virus,
to think, Okay, I got a virus on Tuesday and
by Sunday, I'm over it. If young, if women young
or old or older are doing tests on themselves, once
(07:52):
the HPV is present, does it not go away? Is
that the danger that basically a person's walking around for
some length of time with this papaloma virus is that Again,
I don't want to sound dumb here, but I'm a guy,
so I'm trying to make sure I understand the parameter
(08:15):
is here. I assume that these tests are done what.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Annually, so if it's negative, it's actually done once every
three years. And if it's positive, then someone would go
and get the appropriate follow up and it would be
done more often. But you know, we call it human
papillomavirus because pretty much everyone who's a human man or
woman will be exposed to this virus at some point
(08:41):
during their lives. And that's why it's so important for
women to get tested repeatedly to make sure that they're
not at risk for cervical cancer. If someone tests positive,
usually the immune system controls the virus over a couple
of years, so it's not like you'll get it on
(09:02):
Sunday and it's gone by Tuesday. It's you know, you'll
get it in twenty twenty two and hopefully it's gone
by twenty twenty four. But it can and then sometimes
come back later on. So a new diagnosis of a
new positive HPV test doesn't mean that it's a new infection.
(09:23):
It could be an old infection that has come out again.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Okay, And then men can can carry this infection and
in fact, you know, contribute to the infection of their partner,
I assume. But this is not nearly as dangerous a
virus to men as it is to women, is what
(09:47):
I'm hearing.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Well, it it.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Is because HPV can cause six different types of cancer,
and the most common HPV related can answer in the
United States right now is actually cancer of the base
of tongue and tonsles, and that is more common in
men than in women.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
The problem with that cancer is we don't have a
way to screen for it and prevent it. So the
cervical cancer, we know how to prevent it. So with
screening and vaccination, we can prevent cervical cancer. But with
the tongue and tonsile cancers, vaccination should prevent them, but
we don't have a way to screen for them.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Okay, this is very, very complicated, and I hope that
it's going to at least cause people to think and
also maybe do a little bit more research on their
own as well. This is a I've learned a lot
in this interview. To be honest with you, some of
it is unsettling. But I think it's better to be
unsettled than to be ignorant. So I thank you very
(10:54):
much for your time tonight on this.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Oh you're welcome. Yes, I would say, if there's one
take home message for women, it's see your doctor and
make sure you get screened.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, and can folks get more information? Is there a
website that you can refer people to? Again, I don't
want people calling you on the phone tomorrow say I
heard you on Night Side last night. I got a
couple of questions.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I think the American Cancer Society has very good information
on HPV and cervical cancer screening.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Great, well, thank you very much for your time. Thank
you very much. Doctor Rebecca Perkins an obstetrician and gynecologist
as well as an investigator at the Mother Infant Research
Institute at Tough Medical Center. So appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Thank you very much, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Good night. When we get back, we will have another guest.
I'm not sure what the lineup is here, so I'm
not going to mention who will the next guest, but
you're going to have to hold on in breathless anticipation.
In the meantime, remind you that you can get the
iHeart app. It's a new iHeart app. Very easily get
(12:05):
your new iHeart app, and you also can use it
heaven as a preset, so that way you'll never miss
an edition of Nightside and you'll always be there on
iHeart listening to WBZ twenty four to seven, three and
sixty five days a year. We'll be back with our
next guest in this edition of Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Well, we're only a couple of days away from March,
and of course the big event in March for most
of us here in Boston, whether we're Irish or not,
is Saint Patrick's Day on March seventeenth, and all sorts
of events leading up to Saint Patrick's Day. We are
joined tonight by a member of an award winning Irish band.
The band is pronounced Lenoosa. They will be playing in
(12:59):
Somerville on March eighth, and with us is one of
the members of that band, Kevin Crawford. He's a flute player,
considered one of Ireland's greatest flute players. Kevin, Welcome to
night Side.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
How are you, sir, Good evening, Dan, how are you?
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
I'm doing just great. I'm a Corkman. I am of
Irish descent. My family grew up in the town of Mallow,
about ten about twenty minutes north of Cork City on
the Blackwater River. And I do not know what the
word lunusa means in Gaelic. I assume it's a Gaelic word.
(13:35):
Can you give us, first of all, a meaning for
the word lanusa?
Speaker 5 (13:39):
I can, and I can correct you on the pronunciation
as well. It's lunasas lunasa. YEA lunasa would be the
Irish kind of way we'd pronounce it, but we we
answer to anything, then we're good. You can you can
chop it up and spit it out whatever you want.
We'll still will still talk to you.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So what my question is, does it is there some
derivation when I see the letters l u n a
I'm thinking of the Latin that meaning the moon tell
us what Lunasa in Gaelic.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Yes, I mean it's all related to that whole kind
of moon sun kind of stuff. But Lunasa the way
we spell it, the way the Irish spell it for
that particular l u n a s a that's the
Irish for the month of Aust.
Speaker 6 (14:33):
And then.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I missed it. You broke up on me there, Kevin.
For a second, that's Irish. That's Gaelic for what the
month of what?
Speaker 7 (14:42):
August?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
August? Oh? Interesting, interesting, okay, but you're here.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
So.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
Sorry. It's also the name of a one of the
the pagan festivals that would have happened in Ireland in
the just preach calendar days, So you had Lunus swyn
Baltan and there were four different festivals, and Lunas was
the harvest festival, so it's kind of tied in with
the month of August. The harvest, the sun and all
(15:14):
of those lovely things that make it kind of a
very special.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Those Celtic pagans, they were kind of a wild bunch,
and thank god Saint Patrick came to save us, that's
for sure. You were a flute player. How does one
become a flute player? I know the answer is probably
with a lot of practice. But you would drawn, I
assume to music, and that became the instrument that you've mastered.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Well, I mean, the simple answer is that I was
actually drawn to Irish music, and there was a lot
of Irish been played, you know, both through visiting musicians
to our house and then you know Ricardo LPs and
Irish radio and all of that stuff that would be played.
But I just knew that I loved the sound of
(16:03):
It's a combination of fiddle and flute, and I didn't
really know which one was better than the other. And
I dabbled on the fiddle initially because violins are fiddles
were easy to get hold, easier to get hold of
than Irish flutes there are quite difficult to get and
they're very different to a classical flute, where a fiddle
(16:24):
is the same as a violin. If you get my meaning.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
But so I just started on the fiddle, and I
soon realized, and to the delight of my parents as well,
that the fiddle wasn't going.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
To be the instrument for me because I was making
some terrible noises for a couple of years with that thing.
Speaker 7 (16:42):
I can't understand.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I couldn't understand that.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
Easy to move. It was easy to move on to
the flute because in Ireland everybody learns the penny whistle.
Speaker 7 (16:55):
As a child.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
So so the next kind the level up from that,
the next kind of logical step would be the flute.
Are the Irish types because they have a similar kind
of fingering, you know. So that's that's kind of it.
And I just kept hunting and wishing and asking and
begging and burrowing flutes, and then eventually I got one
(17:18):
when I was sixteen.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
So so how much how much does your band travel?
You're going to be here in Somerville and marsh eighth.
Do you come across the pond often? Are you based
in Ireland? Do you do a lot of half and half?
Speaker 5 (17:34):
Yeah? Yeah, So it's two three of the members of
the band live in the US and three lived in Ireland,
so I live currently in upstate New York. Our piper
lives in New York City, and our film player lives
in Florida. So it's they're the three kind of melody
(17:55):
players and we're all based here. And then you've got
our guitarist, double bass player. We also have a singer
for this tour for the night in Boston, so they're
all based in Ireland yet.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
So let's get to the most important information. Although this
has been great background in biographical information. So you will
be appearing at the Somerville Theater on Saturday, March eighth
at seven pm.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Yes, and it's a welcome return for us to the
Somerville Theater. We've we've played there since we started them
in the bands together since nineteen ninety seven, so we've
been playing in Somerville for a man eas a long day,
but we haven't played Somerville's theater, funny enough, for probably
six or seven years. We started doing other shows in
(18:44):
and around Boston. But it's really really exciting to be
going back to the Somerville because that's where we cut
our teeth back in the early naughties, you know.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So this is again Saturday, March eighth at seven and
tickets are available. I assume by content. I'm looking at
my notes here and I don't see. Normally we can
uh push people towards where they can get the tickets. Uh,
they they get them.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Well, if they go to our website, there'll be a
link from there. So that's Lunasa band dot I e
u O lunasaband dot com. I sis so okay, lunasaband
dot com and there'll be the full tour and all
the links from there are go directly to the Summerville Theater.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I imagine that.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yeah, perfect, perfect, Well that's a great way to uh
to bring in the month of March, of course, which
means springtime and shamrocks in Saint Patrick's Day March eighth. Uh.
If if I wasn't committed to doing something that night
in Boston, I would have been there myself in the audience.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
So I have to you want to come down to
see us, We'll have to celebrate Mallow and Kark another
another time.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, you're on a corkman, are you.
Speaker 7 (19:56):
I'm not.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
I'm very close though I'm from County Clare. I'm just
too country.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Oh, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
I holiday all the time down in Westcark, so I'm
a big fan, a big fan.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Yeah, all right, Well, thank you much, Kevin Crawford. I
appreciate the time. The band is called Lunasta and they
are going to be in Somerville in Somemmerville at the
Somerville Theater on Saturday night, March eighth, at seven o'clock.
Thanks so much, Kevin. I enjoyed the conversation. Hope to
meet you up good. Thank you much.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
Oh, thanks so much, man, thanks really welcome.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
When we get back, we're going to first of all,
taking a break for the news at the bottom of
they are a couple of minutes late, apologize for that.
And we're going to talk about the flu, which has
been rampant around these parts in the last few weeks.
And there are some serious complications from the flu that
we're going to talk about with Alison Quiznitz, she's a
(20:50):
State House reporter. Back on Nightside right after.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
This, It's night Side, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Well, I think most of us either have had something
like the flu or know someone in our family who
has had something like the flu. In the last few weeks.
It seemed to kind of, I guess, pop up around
these parts and sometime in December with us is a
State House news reporter, Alison Kusnitz, and Alison has a
(21:22):
lot of information for US here on flu complications, particularly
in children that has triggered a state advisory. Alison, Welcome
to Nightside. How are you?
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Thank you?
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Thanks for having me well.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Always great to have one of the State House news reporters.
When I was a television reporter many years ago, spent
a lot of time hanging out at the State House.
I hope that they have a State House News reporter
room now, which is better than what it was twenty
or so years ago. But we'll leave that for another conversation.
It probably is the same. So I caught something the
(21:57):
week of Christmas and it was rough. It was upper
respiratorium bronchitis, and it stayed away, and it stayed with
me and I had this horrible cough. Is that the
stuff that's going around or is it a different type
of flu?
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Well, So there are a number of illnesses going around. Recently,
the Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein had talked
about that Massachusetts was seeing a peak in the flu,
but other viruses, other respiratory viruses were actually on the decline,
but he had said at a Public Health Council meeting
earlier this month that Massachusetts had hit a peak that
was actually surpassed the past five flu seasons, And just
(22:36):
looking at the state's dashboard right now is pretty consistent
with what the Commissioner was talking about just a few
weeks ago. That's the estimated severity of flu throughout Massachusetts.
So in really every county that they're tracking, it's very
high rate of blue circulating right now.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
So it's still still here. We are at the end
of February, the last week of February, the last couple
of days of February, and it's still the interes what
the tracking is still increasing.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Yeah, so this severity of the flu is increasing. Are
there does seem to be some improvements with some of
the metrics from the Department of Health. Some of this
data is not perfectly updated. I believe the most recent
data from DPH right now was from February twentieth. They
are showing DPH data is showing there has been some
decrease and the number of influenza like illness, business and
(23:25):
also hospitalizations associated with influenza, but the numbers continue to
be extremely high compared to the benchmark that health officials
are using.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Okay, so now the problem here is that this is
a flu, but it also apparently has some complications that
are neurological. That sounds to me like something that people
should pay attention to. What does that all mean realistically?
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Sure, So the Department of Public Health put out a
clinical advisory February fourteenth that has been circulating more and
so basically, Department Public Health officials send out this notice
wanting to let providers clinicians know that they're seeing a
possible increase in children with neurological complications that could be
associated with them also having the flu. Dph said that
(24:13):
this could really be They're not quite sure why they're
seeing this possible increase. They're saying it could simply be
a matter of because flu activity is so high, therefore
they're seeing a higher number of people with neurological complications.
But they're also saying that, you know, kids that already
had pre existing neurological conditions, or kids that are not
vaccinated against the flu might have be a greater risk
(24:37):
of developing some of these neurologic complications. Health officials said
that seizure would be one of the most common types
of complications, and then you could also see situations like
brain inflammation other conditions with This.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Sounds very serious when you're talking about the seizure or
brain inflammation. Is that something that normally can be associated
with the flu? I mean, I know the flu is miserable,
don't get me wrong, but I didn't realize that particularly
within children. Is it more common in children than adults
(25:12):
that these neurological I think complications are appearing?
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Sure, I think officials are saying they're also not sure
if maybe it's this type of strain of the flu
that is causing the complications, or if it's this category
of children that happen to be a greater risk. Right now,
health officials said that people that do have these neurological conditions,
they're not necessarily going to be chronic conditions. But health
(25:39):
officials also said that that children that do end up
with these neurological complications are going to see higher or
longer lens to day in it, and they have a
higher excuse me, a longer length of stay in hospitals,
and they have a higher chance of being admitted to
the ICU Wow.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
This is pretty scary. So one of the things I
guess that parents need to think more seriously about is
it's not too late I guess to get a flu
shat for yourself or for your kids.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Correct, sure, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
One of the key recommendations in this clinical advisory is
that children ages six months and older should be vaccinated
if they're not already. And actually the number of people
vaccinated in Massachusetts, it's just thirty eight percent or about
thirty nine percent of Massachusetts residents are vaccinated against the
blue so DPA because that's about two out of five
(26:34):
residents who are vaccinated. That number doesn't necessarily differentiate between
adults and children, but there's definitely a lot of improvement
for folks who could be getting vaccinated against the blue.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Well. It's interesting, you know, when COVID was ongoing and
there was a lot of controversy about vaccinations and compulsory
vaccinations versus you know, accepting vaccinate excinations voluntarily, and they
would tie to people maintaining in some cases maintaining their jobs.
(27:07):
I think that there was a lot of skepticism that developed,
and I'm surprised that the vaccination level is that low
here in Massachusetts, because I think Massachusetts is a I
use the word progressive, not in a political sense, but
in that we have a high degree of medical personnel here,
medical institutions. The fact that only thirty six or thirty
(27:29):
eight percent of people in Massachusetts vaccinated against the flu
that surprises me as the number. Does it surprise you
as well?
Speaker 4 (27:37):
I think it does. I think it definitely leads room
to wonder what other public awareness campaigns public health officials
could have done. I know that a number of healthcare
organizations earlier in the flu season did put out a
lot of public messaging really urging people to get their
flu shots, saying that these flu shots are really widely available,
whether it's not your doctor office or doctor's offices or
(27:58):
local pharmacies. But it is surprising to see such a
low number, especially when we see you know, RSV other
respiratory illnesses also really heading mass to Judas residence this season.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
I'm wondering if there's not a little bit of a
backlash against some of the mandatory COVID vaccinations that are
still for people's minds, and if there wasn't some some
harm done to sort of like the psyche of a
lot of people, and that I mean, I'm somebody who
has I get all my vaccinations because I just happen
(28:30):
to believe in vaccinations. But there's a substantial number of
people in this country have become very skeptical and that
that that is worrisome, you know, and I think it's
always easier to convince rather than compel people to do anything,
just from a philosophical point of view. Allison, I really
enjoyed the conversation. You sound like a great state House
(28:52):
News report, thorough direct, Thank you so much for this information.
I look forward to having you on again. If we
have ever ever had the asus you're having you on
before now.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
I really appreciate it. Would be happy to come back
any time.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, was this your first appearance on on Night Side
We do four? Well you did great. You're exceptionable. I
mean that seriously. There are are state House News reporters
every all our guests are great, but you're exceptional, very
thorough and very responsive. I really enjoyed the conversation. Thanks, Alison.
We'll talk again talking about compulsory things. There's a new
(29:33):
poll out that base stats are not too sweet on
taxing candy. We're going to talk with Chris Anderson, he's
the president of the Massachusetts High Tech Council's council, about
the possibility that your candy could be taxed. Just remember
in Massachusetts they only tax two things, anything that moves
and anything that doesn't move. We'll be back with Chris
(29:54):
Anderson right after this break.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Now back to Dan Way live from the Window World
Nights Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Delighted to be joined by Chris Anderson. Christopher Anderson, president
of the Massachusetts High Tech Council, but he's also one
of the organizers of a group called the Massachusetts Opportunity Alliance,
and they have been doing some polling on how base
Staters feel about taxing our candy, our chocolate bars, we
(30:26):
got walllipops. It turns out the base Staters are not
too sweet on that idea. Christopher Anderson, Welcome back to
night'sat How are you good?
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Intro?
Speaker 7 (30:35):
It's great to be with you, Dan, Always a pleasure,
you bet you so.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Tell us about the mass Opportunity Alliance. Is this a
subsidiary of the Massachusetts High Tech Council or is this
a separate organization that you're involved with as well.
Speaker 7 (30:51):
Yeah, no, it's a great question. First of all, we
have to start with the fact that there's a deep
correlation between the strength or as as climate and the
quality of life for everybody that lives in works in Massachusetts,
and business leaders across our entire private sector economy have
recognized a big change, a big swing in the pendulum.
(31:12):
Things are getting a lot more challenging, and our workers
and people that live in work across the state are
realizing that the cost of living in Massachusetts are causing
them to rethink whether they stick around here. So what
the Mass Opportunity Alliance is a partnership to sort of
bring together a cross organizational sector of different business leaders
(31:35):
and activate residents and generate some awareness around what these
trends are. And sixty four percent of Massachusetts voters are
not enrolled in either political party, and that's really an
opportunity for us to work through the Mass Opportunity Alliance
to generate some engagement, action, and awareness that we expect
(31:57):
them to be part of the solution as we go forward.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Oh you know, Chris, you've heard me say this if
you listen to my show before that we're lucky in
Massachusetts because the Massachusetts only taxes. Two things here in
Massachusetts anything that moves and anything that doesn't move. And
I don't understand why why our residents are so concerned about,
you know, just another tax here. They're going after my
(32:23):
candy to They're going to have to pry that Hershey's
chocolate bar from my cold, dead hand. I want you
to know that.
Speaker 7 (32:32):
I mean, well, it's an interesting analogy to get people
focused on the tax proposal. So the current budget that
the governor proposed generates another seven percent increase in spending,
but is assuming only a four percent increase in revenue growth.
And within the budget, in addition to the candy tax,
(32:53):
which sixty four percent of voters op pose based on
our polling, there are proposals to raise taxes on vehicles, lodging,
and meals across every city in town in Massachusetts, and
voters are even more opposed to those provisions. So there's
a disconnect between this correlation that business leaders see between
(33:17):
the business climate and quality life and the policy proposals
that elected officials are seen to be focused on. And
we do share some common ground, for example, around housing
and the need to make that more affordable, but in
the middle of that you can't be raising spending in
the state budget and proposing a whole host of new
(33:39):
taxes that will affect different people in different cities and towns.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
Well, sometimes we can't even agree on what the size
of the governor's budget proposal is. So I've seen sixty
two billion, I've seen it as high as sixty six
billion dollars, depending upon how it's calculated. And that's that's
a problem as well, just the whole concept of transparency.
(34:05):
And then the other thing is up at the state House.
They are working, you know, twenty four to seven to
try to get as much money out of people's pockets
as they can. And the average person, the average voter,
the average citizen is working their butt off just to
pay all the taxes. And these folks up at the
(34:26):
state House, they're isolated. They're in this little science lab
of coming up with new taxes. At what point are
the people in Massachusetts going to smarten up and say
enough is enough?
Speaker 7 (34:39):
Well, that's what mass Opportunity is really designed to help achieve,
is a greater awareness among people who don't normally think
of the types of policies that they believe don't affect them.
For example, the syer tax on incomes over a million.
A lot of people just figure, well, that's not me.
I'm not in that category. But look what's happening, Dan saying,
(35:00):
a rapid out migration of high wealth individuals, not just
retirees and those of the highest income brackets, but work
Sixty eight percent of the people that are leaving are
in the working age of between twenty eight and fifty four,
and they're taking you know, decent wage jobs and their families,
(35:21):
and they're moving to lower cost, better quality life states
where they can raise their family and spend their resources.
So that's an important fact that you know doesn't show
up in the policy proposals yet, but it's on the
tip of every business leader's consciousness. And we think we
can help mobilize people who listen to your show, people
(35:44):
who are rank and file across the state with this information.
And the website at Mass Opportunity Alliance has a ton
of this great research data and narrative around what the
trends mean for people like you and me and our neighbors.
And so I would encourage the audience to take a look.
(36:04):
And you know, we've we've done a lot in only
six months. Of MOA being public, and we have a
plan over the next two to six years and beyond
UH to use this vehicle to be proactive in addressing
some of the challenges that we see.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
What's the website because I'm sure some of my listeners
will want to migrate there and maybe join the organization
supported in some way. Is at moa dot com or
is it mass Opportunity Alliance?
Speaker 7 (36:31):
Yeah, Mass Opportunity Alliance dot com, dot org.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
Actually, oh it's a dot org. You should remember that, yeah.
Speaker 7 (36:37):
Dot org.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
Well, and we need more of that in Massachusetts. I
mean the problem, Chris, you and I know it's a
one party state, and whenever there's a one party state,
everything is done behind closed doors. There's no transparency. The
only politician up there who's actually trying to open up
(36:59):
and and shine the light of daylight is the state auditor,
and she's a Democrats.
Speaker 7 (37:10):
Yeah, and quite there are a number of Democrats who
are on both branches that we've been meeting with that
are very interested in and very supportive of our efforts
because they see the trend that nobody wants to talk about.
We have a lot of cheerleaders in Massachusetts that want
to talk about how great team Massachusetts. We have a
(37:33):
lot of assets that no other state has, that's for sure. Whoever,
the people driving the economy, Dan, not the ones in
public policy positions, but the folks driving our economy, our
private sector economy. They're being tapped on the shoulder by
officials in New Hampshire and Florida most successfully every day.
(37:54):
And our employees recognize that they could take the same
job in this mobile economy, relocate and get a raise
without their income going up because their taxes are going
to go down, and we lose that opportunity here in Massachusetts,
and it changes the trajectory. And that's why we're really
(38:14):
focused around the long term and making sure that the
quality of life doesn't deteriorate. But in order for that
to happen, Dan, you've got to assure that we have
a strong, robust business economy that welcomes investment and job creation.
And that's how you grow revenue now couplosing tax rates.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
What I'd love to do is bring you back some
night and do in the long form interview, do an hour,
maybe nine o'clock, and take calls. In this hour, we
do four interviews. There are no callers, but I want
people to have an opportunity to talk with you and
ask you a question. So I'll have my producer get
back in touch with you, and at some point in
the next particularly as we move into the tax season,
(38:55):
when people might be raised in people's minds and as
they say any people that the only thing that attacks
in Massachusetts are things that move and things that don't move.
Speaker 7 (39:04):
And well, you're doing great work, Dan. We appreciate your
good work, and I look forward to coming back and
maybe taking in a Lunas show sometime before then.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Good luck with that as well. Hey, Chris, thanks very much.
We'll talk soon. Okay, take care, bye, Thank you very much.
When we come back tonight, we are going to talk
about the expense of living in Massachusetts, and we're going
to start with utility bills and also going to talk
about egg prices. Things are getting more expensive. It's not
getting any easier for most of you, and this is
(39:37):
an opportunity for you to have your voice heard. We're
coming back on Night's side right after this
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