As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, people have a lot of questions about who is eligible, and when and how to sign up.

The vaccine rollout continues across the region, with first responders and older veterans receiving theirs this week. Gov Baker vetoes a major climate bill, as legislators promise it’ll land right back on his desk. And Massachusetts will be getting a new state seal, and the Mashpee Wampanoag will be part of the design commission.

The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is urging businesses hurt by COVID-19 to apply for a sector-specific grant by 11:59 p.m. tonight.

Eligible sectors include restaurants, entertainment venues, gyms, salons, and independent retailers.

Single-day COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts hit an all-time high earlier this month of nearly 9,000. The growing numbers make contact tracing a gargantuan task, and at times, the effort has fallen behind.

Beverly Costa-Ciavola, who lives in Falmouth, tested positive for COVID-19 the day after Christmas, but never heard from anyone.

On The Point, we talk about staying active at any age: why exercise important for our mental and physical health, what types of activities we should be focusing on depending on our age, and how to avoid some common injuries.

Our region has an eclectic and vibrant music scene, and coming together to perform or take in live music is something we typically enjoy year-round. This year is anything but typical. In-person music events and performances are canceled, and musicians are socially distant from one another. On The Point, we hear how the pandemic is impacting local musicians, and sample works of just a few of our regions talented musicians.

Shortly after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, Julio Cruz and his family moved to the Outer Cape. With Spanish as his first language, Julio enrolled in an English as a second language class at Nauset Regional High School. Surprisingly his ESL class focused on building a garden of all things. The teacher Rand Burkert connected the students to each other, and English, by growing crops they remembered from home.

Some weeks I’m scraping the bottom of the birding barrel looking for “Bird Report” content. This is not one of those weeks. No, this past week brought the opposite problem, the one where a truly absurd number of noteworthy bird happenings coincide, leaving me wondering how to tie them all together. 

It's the monthly Bird News program on The Point: wildlife biologist Mark Faherty brings us the latest of the season's birding highlights (and reports on other creatures too). More people are birding during the pandemic, leading to more interesting bird sightings! An unusual flight of about sixty puffins was recently seen near First Encounter Beach in Eastham. It's been a good winter so far for finches and their kin. Mark gives us tips for the bird feeder, and notes the presence of remaining migrants that seemed to have stayed on to overwinter here, including several orioles.