Cape Officials Working To Reach Seniors Facing Vaccine Hurdles

Falmouth MA

02 March, 2021

4:24 PM

Description

BARNSTABLE, MA — Cape Cod Healthcare is operating a large-scale COVID-19 vaccination site at Cape Cod Community College, but residents have yet to receive answers on when they can register for first and second doses at a facility expected to administer 4,000 doses per week. But Barnstable County health officials said those answer will become clearer soon. Cape Cod Healthcare CEO Mike Lauf said state and local officials are working to provide Cape Cod Healthcare with a list of the most vulnerable Cape Cod residents that should be vaccinated at the college first. After that, officials said they will list appointments on the state scheduling tool. To identify those people, county and local officials will work together to create a regional consortium to organize the process. The Cape Cod Times reported the Barnstable and Bourne councils on aging have already started creating lists of eligible people who are home bound or have struggled to get a vaccination appointment. Madeline Noonan, the director of community services for the Town of Barnstable, told the newspaper said the process is still being figured out. Other officials said patience will be key as the region tries to get more vaccines. "It's all been a supply issue, let's face it," Noonan told the Cape Cod Times. "Nobody's going to be left behind." State and local officials on Cape Cod have called for large vaccination sites on Cape Cod because of the difficulty created for seniors and those without cars to travel. Nearly 100 Cape Cod officials signed a Feb. 12 letter to Gov. Charlie Baker calling for a mass vaccination site at Cape Cod Community College in Barnstable. State Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Truro), said the vaccine site will prioritize older residents and those with health issues first. He said many of those residents were forced to try to find a vaccine appoint at mass vaccination sites outside the Cape, including Gillette Stadium in Foxborough and the former Circuit City in Dartmouth — and many have remained unsuccessful. Cape Cod residents felt the same way, including Katie DelTorto, who ended up in a coma last year after she suffered heart failure. So far, she's tried finding appointments at the Walgreens in Mashpee and numerous other sites but hadn't had any luck getting an appointment as of Tuesday. "I truly am scared to death I am going to become a statistic of COVID and die a miserable, lonely death," DelTorto said. "I cannot begin to explain how traumatizing this constant and nagging very realistic thought and fear. I am beyond frustrated that I cannot find a vaccine appointment."