With children in Massachusetts continuing to learn remotely, full- or part-time, during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, physicians have noticed concerning declines in students’ mental health.

Nine months into the pandemic, doctors who have been treating COVID patients say the vaccine is their greatest source of hope.

Dr. Gayle Galletta has anticipated this moment for months. “Excitement would be an odd word, but relief,” Galletta said after she got the shot.

Relief that she’s getting a vaccine that will also protect people around her. Early on, the emergency medicine physician at UMass Memorial Hospitals in Worcester and Clinton worried constantly she’d bring the virus home to her family.

UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest employer in Central Massachusetts, plans to have all of its health providers vaccinated against coronavirus by mid-February, a period of roughly two months.

All of the system's caregivers are expected to have at least appointments in place for vaccinations by Jan. 11, according to a memo sent to employees Friday. Those who are providing care directly to COVID-19 patients are going first, followed by those with less contact with virus patients, and then other providers.

For intensive care nurse Elizabeth Phelan, and others at UMass Memorial Health Care, its one day at a time right now.

“We keep telling ourselves this is not how it’s going to be forever, this will all end eventually, and we will get back to normal eventually, we just have to take it day by day,” said Phelan.

In response to the fighting spirit of health care employees like Phelan, more than 30 cities and towns joined forces to help with the tough days in a massive show of support.

Suzor has sheltered more than a dozen children. She’s among a legion of foster parents who toil in obscurity, opening their hearts and homes to some of the state’s most vulnerable kids.

“They are just so little, so injured, and you really want to wrap them in your arms and keep them all safe,” Suzor said.

But instead of doing everything possible to assist foster parents like Suzor, the state has done little to lighten their load, and in many ways has made the work even tougher.

Some 2,000 families have stopped accepting foster children in the past five years — almost as many as the total number of foster families currently in the system. The departures have further strained the longstanding gap between available foster homes and the thousands of abused and neglected kids who need a safe haven.

When Marie retired more than two decades ago, she decided to spend her days volunteering. But then she got sick and wasn't able to continue, which was frustrating.

UMass Memorial Medical Center, the region’s trusted academic medical center, recently partnered with HealthLoop, the leading patient engagement software solution, to support patients receiving total joint surgery. UMass Memorial’s fellow-ship trained physicians have been at the forefront in identifying quality of care and patient satisfaction best practices as part of a national academic task force.

Amy and Joseph Loud were eagerly anticipating the birth of their second son, still four weeks away, on June 14, 2017. Unlike the previous precarious pregnancy with their then 6-year-old son, Luke, this pregnancy was “textbook perfect the whole time,” Mr. Loud, 36, said.