Massachusetts vaccine qualifications expand
Anyone 55 or older or who suffers from a qualifying medical condition is eligible to sign up for a coronavirus vaccine in Massachusetts as of Monday — the same day the state launches a new mobile vaccination effort to get more shots into the arms of vulnerable residents.
The state last week added Type 1 diabetes, certain neurological conditions, immunocompromised states and substance use disorders to a list of eligible medical comorbidities that qualify people to sign up for shots.
The group includes about 920,000 more residents, according to the state and comes as Massachusetts is finally seeing a boost in the supply of vaccines coming from the federal government. It’s the last category of vulnerable residents prioritized to get shots early before eligibility opens up to the general public.
A boost of 100,000 single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccines arrive in the state this week, but Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders called the bump supply a “one-time bonus” during an appearance in Chelsea on Thursday and cautioned the issues around constrained supply will continue to make it difficult for people to book appointments in the short term.
The state on Monday is also set to open the first pop-up and mobile vaccination clinics in city parks, street corners and parking lots — a partnership with the federal government.
All Massachusetts adults ages 16 and older will be able to sign up for shots are more than 170 locations around the state on April 19. It’s the same day President Biden set for more than 90% of Americans to become eligible.
Massachusetts lags behind some neighboring states when it comes to opening up eligibility to the general public, but Gov. Charlie Baker said last week he is unlikely to speed up the state’s distribution timeline.
All New Hampshire residents 16 and older became eligible to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday. All adults in New York are eligible as of this week.
“I think the schedule we’ve got in place is the right one,” Baker said during a tour of the Hynes mass vaccination site on Wednesday. “We’ve tried to make sure that people who are eligible by these phases have an opportunity to actually get vaccinated before we go to the next phase.”
Baker repeated that he thinks the timeline is “where it should be” during an appearance in Chelsea on Thursday.
More than 1 million people have preregistered on the state’s centralized appointment sign-up site for the seven mass vaccination sites, Baker said last week.
As of Sunday, 1,478,520 people were fully vaccinated in Massachusetts — including 99,740 who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine — and 2,425,659 have received at least their first shot of either of the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer shots.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/39HUxsg
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