Legislators Urge Gov. Baker To Give Vaccine Back To Local Clinics

Salem MA

23 February, 2021

5:14 PM

Description

SALEM, MA — The battle over the best way to distribute the coronavirus vaccine in Massachusetts continued on Tuesday with a group of 50 state legislators issuing a public plea for municipalities to be able to vaccinate their own residents, while Gov. Charlie Baker once again touted the performance of the mass vaccination sites where most available doses are now being routed. The back-and-forth began last week when cities and towns that hold clinics only for their own residents were told they will no longer receive significant allotments as the state focuses on the larger sites that can vaccinate large numbers of residents five days a week regardless of where they live. "The strategy that the commonwealth is pursuing, which are a number of large sites, has been overwhelmingly positive experiences," Baker said during his Tuesday news conference in which he also urged all school districts to bring their students back five days per week in person by April. "Most of the feedback we get as far as a constituent (response) is how much people like the fact that all those sites do is vaccinate people. People are in and out in 30 minutes and people think the experience is terrific." While those fortunate enough to get appointments may feel that way, the group of legislators said residents shut out of the website registration process, without transportation or those who simply don't feel comfortable going to a large out-of-town venue would be better served with the local clinics. "Getting vaccines in a timely fashion can literally mean the difference between life and death for my constituents and all residents of the commonwealth," Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem) told Patch. "The Baker Administration needs to make major improvements immediately to make the rollout more efficient, and using the expertise of our local boards of health would help ensure a more equitable dissemination of the vaccine to people throughout Massachusetts." Sen. Walter Timilty (D-Milton), who authored the public letter to Gov. Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and state Health and Human Services Director Marylou Sudders, said cities and towns best provide the infrastructure to vaccinate most effectively and should be able to build on the clinics that helped vaccinate first responders in Phase One of the state's rollout. "We have seen first-hand the success that localities have had in immunizing high-risk individuals in their communities," the letter said. "It is vitally important that the government of the commonwealth work closely with local communities for the care and protection of the citizens of Massachusetts. "Let our communities continue to take care of their residents." North Shore Reps. Lori Ehrlich (D-Swampscott) and Sally Kerans (D-Danvers) were among the 50 legislators who signed the letter. Today, 49 of my legislative colleagues joined me on a letter to Executive Office of Health & Human Services Secretary Sudders, Governor Baker, and Lt. Governor Polito to allow local boards of health and emergency personnel to continue to administer COVID-19 vaccines. pic.twitter.com/aOOdQMdZRA— Walter F. Timilty (@WalterFTimilty) February 22, 2021 Readers told Patch the first week of the Phase Two expansion last week — which included adding all those 65 years old or older and those with two or more co-morbidities — was "torture" with the state website crashing just as 70,000 new appointments went online last Thursday, and with the frustration involved with having to fill out the same personal information over and over again for appointments that we were no longer available by the time residents finished the process. Bakers and Sudders both said in recent days a "waiting room" function will be introduced "within a couple of weeks" that will allow those booking an appointment to hold their spot as they complete the registration process. But Baker also asserted on Tuesday that the state's current course of sending most of the 139,000 weekly doses it receives to the mass vaccination sites and regional collaboratives while having local Boards of Health concentrate on their own homebound or hard-to-reach residents with limited doses is the best way to get the most residents vaccinated as quickly as possible. "We're No. 1 In the county in first doses per capita among our peer states that have more than 5 million people," Baker repeatedly declared on Tuesday. "We're a top 10 daily doser," he added. Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch. (Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.) More Patch Coverage: Changes Coming To MA Coronavirus Vaccination Booking System "It's Torture": North Shore Residents Sound Off On Vaccine Fiasco Danvers Mass Vaccination Site Prioritized Over Local Clinics