Hopkinton Health Director Shaun McAuliffe, speaking to the Select Board on Tuesday night, said local children have been turning out in big numbers for their COVID-19 vaccines.

McAuliffe told the board that his department had vaccinated 49 children just before he joined the meeting.

“You take the 49 and you add it to the state’s report of 129 that were vaccinated before our clinic and the 888 we did last Thursday,” he said. “We expect from these activities and then the residents that have taken their children to their pediatrician, we’re expecting by next Thursday that we’ll be easily north of 63 percent of the 5-11-year-old cohort. I think the number’s actually going to be toward 70 percent.”

McAuliffe said Hopkinton and some neighboring towns plan to organize a regional clinic in Ashland to catch those who missed the individual town clinics.

“After that clinic we should regionally have all of our 5-11-year-olds in that 90-plus [percent] category,” he said. “Then we’ll all be in a much better place going into the Christmas holiday and the new year.”

McAuliffe said four cases recently arose in town, and his department identified “a sizable cluster in a classroom, and most of that was related to an event outside of school.”

“So it’s important to remain vigilant,” he said.

Main Street work continues

In his Main Street Corridor Project update, Town Manager Norman Khumalo said contractor A.F. Amorello was given an extension to continue work late into the fall season.

“The contractor, as I said last week, is now focusing on winding down construction ahead of the winter,” Khumalo said. “They have received some relief from the director of public works allowing the construction to continue beyond November 15th. And all of this will be weather dependent.”

Board can appoint town moderator

Khumalo confirmed that the Select Board is allowed to appoint a temporary town moderator, after Tom Garabedian submitted his resignation earlier this month. The board also can appoint individuals to replace resigned members of the Cemetery Commission and Board of Library Trustees. …

The board accepted the resignation of Chelsea Rockhold from the Youth Commission and confirmed the appointment of firefighter John Sheridan as a traffic constable. The board also approved a Marathon Fund request of $2,000 by the Senior Center to help fund exercise classes for seniors.