Martha’s Vineyard Hospital will sponsor a Covid-19 vaccination clinic at the Chappaquiddick Community Center on Tuesday June 22 from 1:30 to 6:00 p.m. They will offer both the Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson vaccines. There is no charge. You can sign up ahead of time or just walk in. See both the MVH and the CCC websites for further information.

The Chappaquiddick Ferry answers to the United States Coast Guard. All of the ferry captains are licensed by that branch of the federal government. Every five years those licenses are reviewed for renewal which entails increasingly rigorous physical examinations. The Coast Guard also documents and inspects the ferry boats annually. Every two years the vessels are hauled out of the water and their underwater parts are scrutinized. When it comes to marine failures and accidents, the Coast Guard has seen it all and are very serious about preventing any failures and accidents from occurring in the future. They truly have taken on the noble role of being their brother’s keeper.

The U.S. Coast Guard says that masks are still required on the vessels that it oversees. The Chappy Ferry crew have all been vaccinated. I read and hear in the news that a large portion of the public has been vaccinated. It follows that a large portion of ferry passengers would therefore have been vaccinated. However, there are still people, young and old, who are not vaccinated. Those are the folks whose safety the USCG is concerned with in the inherently close quarters of ferry boats. Until further notice, we are our brother’s (and sister’s) keeper while on the Chappy Ferry.