The last week of December in 2020 began with a “day of hope” and the launch of widespread Covid-19 vaccinations. A year later, 2021 is ending with a “blizzard” of new infections, as State Treasurer Deb Goldberg described it.

Postponements and cancellations are filling the news again. Infections forced many to alter their holiday plans, caused the NHL to put all of its games on hold, and left scores of travelers stranded at airports as the virus put a dent in airline workforces. And, starting Monday, some non-essential medical procedures are being put off to protect health care capacity.

A college football bowl game set to be played at Fenway Park on Wednesday was cancelled because the two invited teams— University of Virginia and Southern Methodist University— could not field enough players due to Covid cases on their rosters.

While vaccinations and boosters have helped reduce deaths, hospitalizations, and people suffering severe illness due to the coronavirus, the state has now posted more than 20,000 confirmed and probable deaths from a virus that arrived 21 months ago and has since mutated.

Another 12,983 people in Massachusetts were newly confirmed to have Covid-19 over the Christmas holiday weekend, according to the Department of Public Health. With a total of 993,038 confirmed Covid-19 cases identified since February 2020 and thousands of new cases reported daily over recent weeks, the state is on track to soon surpass a total of 1 million cumulative confirmed cases, a milestone that will mean roughly one out of seven Massachusetts residents has tested positive at some point during the pandemic.

The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 increased, rising from 1,597 on Christmas Eve to 1,636 as of Dec. 26. About 31 percent or 509 of those 1,636 patients were reported to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 when they contracted the virus, the DPH said.

Also on Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with Covid-19 to five days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others.

“The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after,” the CDC said. “Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others.”

Katie Lannan of the State House News Service contributed to this report.

Clinics set to launch
Vaccine and booster clinics, each capable of administering 400 shots a day, will open next Wednesday at the Melnea Cass Recreation Complex in Roxbury and at North Shore Community College’s Modular Building in Lynn.

On Thurs., Jan. 6, Fenway Park will reopen as a vaccine/booster site with the capacity to administer 1,300 shots each day. A new clinic in Taunton will also go live next week.

The four new sites are in addition to a vaccine and booster clinic already open at the Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury, which has 500 doses available each day. Appointments at all five locations are available to book now through vaxfinder.mass.gov.