Massachusetts communities preparing for coronavirus vaccine distribution
While the first coronavirus vaccine doses may come to Massachusetts hospitals in a couple weeks, some Bay State communities are starting to band together to prep for giving the vaccine to the general population in a few months.
Leaders in Salisbury are working with surrounding municipalities to set up vaccination sites and are actively looking for volunteers to run these sites and administer the vaccines.
The COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be rolled out to the general public in the spring.
“We’re lining up volunteers now, so we’ll be ready to rock ‘n’ roll when the vaccine comes,” said Salisbury Public Health Director John Morris.
The town is working with five area communities on planning Emergency Distribution Sites to administer vaccines when they become available — and have the volunteers assist at these sites. The other communities are Amesbury, Merrimac, Newburyport, West Newbury and Newbury.
The different volunteers they’re looking for include medical professionals, law enforcement, administrative, traffic control, set-up crew, break-down crew and those with financial expertise.
In less than a week, about 50 people have signed up to volunteer, Morris said.
Also in Whitman, the town is looking for nurse and paramedic volunteers to work at a COVID-19 vaccination drive-thru in the coming months.
“We encourage any nurse from the Town of Whitman or the surrounding area to volunteer for this important clinic,” Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Timothy Grenno said in a statement. “We do not know exactly when a vaccine will become available, but it is important to have volunteers in place to help ensure a smooth distribution process when the time comes.”
Meanwhile on Thursday, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin pushed for a National Vaccination Day when the vaccine is available for the general public.
He noted that about 160 million Americans voted in the presidential election in only a few weeks.
“In the same way that voting this year occurred over a period of time, and there was a day by which we all knew to make sure we had voted, I believe it will be important to establish a national day by which we all pledge to get the first dose of the new vaccine, once the vaccines become available to the general public,” Galvin said in a statement.
“This is a national crisis and it requires a national effort,” he added. “If my experience with the recent election has taught me anything, it is that state and local officials can do extraordinary things if they have a common objective and are operating under the same broad national principles.”
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3qqIPce
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