星期三, 2月 24, 2021

麻州政府撥款470萬促進11個疫情重災區的疫苗平等

麻州州長查理貝克巡視在納提克購物廣場的
新設大型疫苗注射站。(視頻截圖)
(Boston Orange編譯) 麻州今(24)日宣佈,將斥資470萬元,致力協助州內受新冠病毒打擊最嚴重20個社區,減少他們獲取疫苗的障礙。

麻州州長查理貝克(Charlie Baker)今日到Natick購物商場視察新的大型疫苗注射站時,就麻州的預約疫苗注射程序做了更詳細說明,並表示週四(25)起,麻州6個大型疫苗注射站將有50000個新的注射疫苗機會可供預約。

6個大型疫苗注射站分別在福克斯伯勒(Foxborough),波士頓,春田市( Springfield),達特茅斯(Dartmouth),丹佛(Danvers),以及納提克(Natick)

Lab Corp公司的Bill Haas表示,目前每天為100人
施打疫苗。(視頻截圖)
麻州上週公佈的這平等計畫將重心放在有色社區,以及坐困家中的耆英,殘障人士,以及其他難以觸及的人口。

查理貝克表示,麻州政府將和群島策略集團(Archipelago Strategies Group),以及全民健保(Health Care for All)這兩個組織合作,用這筆錢來減少注射疫苗的障礙,增加人們對於新冠病毒疫苗有效性及安全的認知。麻州健康及人民服務長Marylou Sudders表示,該計畫將從本週開始實施,至少進行到630日。

20個社區是麻州公共衛生廳使用聯邦疾病防治中心的辦法,依據平均每日感染率最高,有色居民人口最多的準則挑選出來,包括波士頓,布洛克頓(Brockton),雀喜市(Chelsea),艾瑞特市(Everett),秋河市(Fall River),費奇堡(Fitchburg),傅萊明罕市(Framingham),哈福希爾(Haverhill),好利奧克(Holyoke),羅倫斯(Lawrence),李奧名斯特(Leominster),羅爾市(Lowell),林市(Lynn),摩頓市(Malden),馬修市(Methuen),新貝福(New Bedford),龍都市(Randolph),瑞維爾(Revere),春田市(Springfield),以及屋斯特(Worcester)

查理貝克表示,這計畫的經費基礎,來自麻州社區健康中心聯盟的投資100萬元,打擊有色社區對疫苗的猶豫。

            查理貝克也說明,麻州已增派人手管理預約注射疫苗的網站,以容許該網站承受更高流量,但還是希望州民在辦理預約登記時能有點耐心。麻州政府還將實施數位等候室做法,以防止網站崩塌。更新了的網站也將為想要預約注射疫苗的人編排成隊,把他們帶到一個展示有關於他們何時可開始辦理手續等更多資訊的網頁。

             目前麻州的疫苗注射進行到第二階段,65歲以上居民,以及患有兩種以上病症的人,都有資格登記預約。

             麻州政府也宣佈了11個區域合作機構,將設立疫苗注射站,從31日起為符合資格的麻州居民服務,以確保麻州居民可以到一個對他們更方便的地方注射疫苗。

             查理貝克表示,在聯邦眾議院委員會週二舉行的公聽會中,製藥公司說以生產疫苗所面對的挑戰已解決,未來數週將大幅度增加疫苗遞送率。華盛頓郵報也報導拜登政府告訴州長們,每週運送給各州的疫苗數量將增加到100萬劑。都是令人欣慰的消息。

             他還說,就在同一天,聯邦藥品局(FDA)認為強生強生的疫苗安全、有效,然後輝瑞及Moderna這兩家公司表示三月將加倍生產疫苗,都是大好消息。

             在納提克購物商場負責大型疫苗注射站這Lab Corp公司的Bill Haas表示,目前該公司每天為100人注射疫苗,下星期可增加到每天500人,估計4月時可增加到每天施打5000劑疫苗。

Baker-Polito Administration Announces $4.7 Million for Vaccine Equity in Hardest-Hit Communities; Regional Vaccination Collaboratives 

BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration today announced a new $4.7 million initiative to promote COVID-19 vaccine equity in the 20 communities most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The Administration also announced 11 high-efficiency regional vaccination collaboratives involving local health officials and other regional partners.

Vaccination Appointments: Tomorrow, around 50,000 new appointments will be added at mass vaccination locations across the Commonwealth. This includes the mass vaccination locations at Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, Springfield, Danvers, Dartmouth and Natick. Retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens will also administer over 20,000 doses next week as well.

Residents can go to www.mass.gov/COVIDvaccine tomorrow morning to find and schedule their appointments. Appointment availability is very limited due to the constrained supply of vaccine doses that the Commonwealth is receiving from the federal government.

$4.7 Million for Vaccine Equity: The Administration today announced a $4.7 million effort to support its vaccine equity initiative announced last week, which focuses on reducing barriers to vaccination in the 20 hardest-hit communities in the Commonwealth. The Administration will work with Archipelago Strategies Group (ASG) and Health Care for All (HCFA) to best leverage these funds.

The initiative will support and coordinate with local leaders and community- and faith-based organizations to strengthen existing efforts in these cities and towns. These efforts will specifically focus on communities of color, homebound seniors, disabled individuals and other hard-to-reach populations. ASG and HCFA will provide hyperlocal, population-specific communication resources as well as hiring local residents and working with local organizations with cultural and linguistic competencies to reach disparately impacted populations in each priority municipality. ASG specializes in grassroots mobilization, partnering with local leaders, community organizations, and media partners to develop community-based solutions. As a subcontractor, HCFA will provide high-touch support for priority communities, including direct service support, community organizing, education, and outreach.

This work will complement the Commonwealth’s $2.5 million public awareness campaign, “Trust the Facts, Get the Vax,” adapting the campaign’s messaging for specific communities. The initiative will focus on the 20 municipalities with the greatest COVID-19 case burden, taking into account social determinants of health and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color. These communities are Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Randolph, Revere, Springfield and Worcester. This work will be coordinated with targeted opportunities for increased vaccine access through existing and new locations, including pop up sites and mobile clinics. 

Regional Collaboratives: In addition, the Administration today also designated 11 new regional collaboratives that will support efforts to streamline vaccination efforts. These collaboratives will leverage local health officials, regional hospitals and others to deliver high-throughput, efficient vaccination sites for all eligible residents across the Commonwealth beginning March 1. Collaboratives must meet several criteria:

 

  • Have capacity to vaccinate a minimum of 750 individuals per day, 5 days per week (subject to vaccine availability);

 

  • Meet an administration rate threshold of 85% and report doses within 24 hours;
  • Be open to all residents of the Commonwealth (collaborations may focus outreach efforts towards those who live or work in the area, but must be open to all Massachusetts residents) 

New and existing collaboratives announced today:

  • Barnstable County
  • Berkshire County Boards of Health Association
  • Franklin County Regional Collaborative
  • Harrington Hospital, in Collaboration with LBOH
  • Heywood Hospital, in Collaboration with LBOH
  • Lawrence General Hospital, in Collaboration with LBOH
  • Marshfield-Plymouth
  • Northampton & Amherst
  • Randolph – Collaboration between Avon, Holbrook, and Randolph
  • Rutland
  • Worcester, Worcester State University, Commonwealth Medicine and St. Vincent Hospital

Information about booking appointments through these collaboratives will be available on www.mass.gov/COVIDvaccine in the coming days.

Regional collaborative leaders on their programs:

Marshfield-Plymouth: “The Marshfield Fairgrounds drive-through site is a place for residents on the South Shore to get vaccinated while in their cars without the worry of parking, walking, or waiting in line. Special thanks to Governor Baker, Lt. Governor Polito and their administration for supporting this site to service so many people in South Eastern Mass. The more people we can get vaccinated the closer we get to ‘herd immunity.’ This pandemic does not recognize town borders, and neither can we.” – Michael Maresco, Marshfield Town Administrator

Lawrence General Hospital, in collaboration with local health departments: “Our Lawrence General Hospital vaccination team is currently vaccinating over 1,000 people a day including some of the most vulnerable in our community. The communities we serve have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and Lawrence General Hospital remains committed and eager to continue working closely with city leaders and state health officials as we ramp up vaccination efforts here in the Merrimack Valley.” – Deborah J. Wilson, President and CEO of Lawrence General Hospital

Berkshire County Boards of Health Association: “We recognized early-on that working together would be the most effective way to vaccinate our community here in the Berkshires. Our local health care organizations and public health departments had been partnering since the beginning of the pandemic, and collaborative vaccination clinics were the natural next step. We are grateful to the Commonwealth for helping us to formally create the Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative, and we look forward to continuing our work to vaccinate our entire community.” – Laura Kittross, Director of the Berkshire County Boards of Health Association, and Darlene Rodowicz, Executive Vice President of Berkshire Health Systems

Randolph: "Since February 5th, Randolph has been operating as a regional Covid-19 vaccination site in collaboration with our neighboring communities of Avon and Holbrook. As our efforts ramp up to vaccinate Massachusetts residents through the different phases of eligibility, we are grateful for this opportunity and partnership with the COVID Command Center. This step towards vaccine distribution equity is important and Randolph is proud to partner with the state to ensure a smooth and efficient process.”  – Gerard F. Cody, REHS/RS, Randolph Public Health Director

Rutland: “The Town of Rutland is pleased to operate a regional COVID vaccination site. Rutland is the geographic center of the Commonwealth. We anticipate operating at 750 vaccine doses daily / 5 days a week. We are happy to fulfill this need in Central MA.” – Richard C Stevens, Rutland Health Agent

Heywood Hospital, in collaboration with local health departments: “In partnership with the City of Gardner, Heywood Healthcare opened its Covid-19 Vaccine Clinic on January 28, 2021. Located at the Polish American Citizens Club in Gardner, the clinic is staffed primarily by community volunteers consisting of retired physicians and RNs, in addition to Mount Wachusett Community College nursing students. It's an honor to provide this service to our community, and we look forward to expanding that service to more individuals eligible for vaccine. We are grateful for our partnership with the state as we work through this pandemic and look forward to coming out on the other side. During its first month of service, operations at the clinic quickly ramped up from 200 doses administered during one session per week to nearly 2,500 doses now being administered during three sessions per week.” – Rozanna Penney, Vice President of Perioperative Services and Clinic Director at Heywood Hospital

Harrington Hospital, in collaboration with local health departments: “Harrington began providing vaccine to its employees in mid-December and quickly moved to vaccinate first responders. We then began working with the State to receive more vaccine to become a Statewide site and partnered with the local and regional communities. We worked closely with Southbridge to utilize their community center and gained support from local police and fire/EMS. This is an ongoing critical partnership! We went from vaccinating about 150 per day and now are doing more than 500 per day. The Commonwealth has supported our program as essential to provide vaccine to all those that are eligible.” – Ed Moore, President and CEO of Harrington Hospital

Northampton & Amherst: “I’m proud that Northampton has been chosen to fulfill this critical role for the people of Western Massachusetts. We take our responsibility very seriously as we work to get everyone vaccinated and get all our lives back to normal. I’m proud to have strong partners in the Town of Amherst and the State Department of Public Health to accomplish our mission as fast as possible.” – Merridith O’Leary, Northampton Public Health Director

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