Baker-Polito Administration Announces
Preregistration System for Mass Vaccination Locations to Launch Friday, Updates
on Dose Distribution in the Commonwealth & Designated Vaccine Clinic Days
for K-12 Educators, Staff & Child Care Workers:
3/10/2021
- Office of
Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito
- Executive Office
of Health and Human Services
- Department of
Public Health
- Executive Office
of Education
- Governor's Press
Office
BOSTON — The
Baker-Polito Administration today announced a new preregistration signup tool
will be available for the state’s 7 mass vaccination sites starting Friday,
March 12. The new system will make it easier to request and book an appointment
at a mass vaccination site at a nearby location when they are available. More
sites will be added to the preregistration system in the coming weeks. When
preregistration launches on Friday, it will replace the current booking
platforms for mass vaccination sites for online booking. The COVID-19 Vaccine
Scheduling Resource Line will be available to help residents without internet
access or with difficulty using the internet with the preregistration process.
The
Administration also announced the weekly distribution of vaccine doses
statewide for different providers, reminding residents that there are 170
public vaccination sites statewide in addition to health systems that are
offering appointments to their patients.
More
information on vaccine sites can be found at: vaxfinder.mass.gov
The
Administration also announced four dedicated educator days at mass vaccination
sites and updates on vaccine distribution channels.
Preregistration
System
Partnering
with the Google Cloud Team, the Administration will launch a preregistration
system for mass vaccination sites only starting Friday, March 12. This tool
will be available at www.mass.gov/COVIDvaccine.
Preregistration
will allow eligible residents to book an appointment at one of the state’s 7
mass vaccination sites.
Details
on the Preregistration Process:
- Eligible
residents will complete the online form at mass.gov/COVIDVaccine to
request to book an appointment at a mass vaccination site nearby.
- After completing
the form, residents will get a confirmation via their preferred method of
contact (text, e-mail, phone) and receive a weekly update about their status.
Residents may opt out of their preregistration at any time if they secure
an appointment elsewhere.
- When an
appointment becomes available at a mass vaccination site, the resident
will be notified and will have 24 hours to accept the appointment once it
is offered to them. If an appointment is not accepted after 24 hours, the
resident will go back into the queue to wait for another appointment.
- To accommodate
older residents and others who are unable to use the form, the
preregistration form allows family members, caregivers or other companions
to fill out the form on behalf of someone else. Residents who do not have
internet access or someone to fill the form out for them can call 2-1-1 to
preregister.
Available
appointments will be offered to residents based on their vaccine eligibility
and the availability of appointments at mass vaccination sites nearby.
Initially, this program is only for the state’s 7 mass vaccination sites. More
sites will be added to the pre-registration system in April.
Massachusetts
receives a very limited supply of vaccine from the federal government each
week. Due to high demand and limited supply, there are only a small number of
appointments for eligible residents. Given the limited number of available
appointments due to constraints on vaccine supply, it could take several weeks
for eligible, preregistered residents to receive a notification about an
available appointment.
In
addition to preregistering for a mass vaccination appointment, eligible
residents are encouraged to book vaccine appointments at any of the 170 public
vaccine sites across the Commonwealth. The state has also allocated a supply of
doses to certain health care providers, hospitals and community health centers
that will provide instructions to their patients on their vaccine process.
Once
the preregistration system is launched on Friday, March 12, it will replace the
weekly appointment release on Thursdays for mass vaccination sites only.
Eligible residents will need to preregister online or contact the call center
to request an appointment for a mass vaccination site.
The
preregistration system will not impact this week’s appointment release on
Thursday, March 11 for mass vaccination sites. Residents should follow the
usual process on March 11 to secure an appointment as a mass vaccination
site.
Other
Ways to Access a Vaccine Appointment:
Eligible
residents are encouraged to look for appointments at any of the state’s 170
public vaccine sites by searching vaxfinder.mass.gov.
This
webpage contains information on locations, hours and instructions to schedule
appointments.
New
appointments are added frequently for many sites.
Vaccine
doses are also provided to certain health care providers, hospitals, and
community health centers. If you are an eligible patient, please follow
instructions from your health care provider on how to access a vaccine.
State
Distribution:
This
week, the state will receive a constrained supply of about 155,000 first doses.
This
week, first doses and second dose allocations (total doses), were divided among
providers as follows:
- Mass vaccination
sites: 83,000
- Hospital
Providers (both private and public): 79,000
- Regional
Collaboratives (12 total): 38,000
- Community Health
Centers: 25,000
- Local Boards of
Health (to complete 2nd dose appointments and support 20
disproportionately impacted communities): 25,000
Weekly
allocations are subject to change based on federal availability, demand from
providers, and obligations to meet second doses. Providers have 10 days to use
their doses.
Federal
Doses:
In
addition to the state allocation, the federal government distributes vaccines
to CVS Health sites as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership as well
as to certain Massachusetts federally qualified community health centers. These
quantities fluctuate on a weekly basis and are not counted as part of the
state’s weekly allocation.
This
week, 95,000 first and second doses have been allocated to the retail pharmacy
program and 19,000 Johnson & Johnson doses have been allocated to the
federally qualified health centers.
Individuals
looking to book appointments across any of these providers should visit www.mass.gov/covidvaccine to
learn more.
Mass
Vaccination Appointments:
On
Thursday, March 11, over 40,000 new first dose appointments for mass
vaccination sites will be made available to eligible groups through the state’s
website and the COVID-19 Vaccine Scheduling Resource Line. Additionally, over
40,000 second dose appointments have also been scheduled at mass vaccination
sites.
This is
the last week that mass vaccination sites will be posted online on Thursday
morning. Starting March 12, all mass vaccination appointments will be booked
through the pre-registration system.
As more
individuals have received a first vaccine dose across the Commonwealth, there
is a greater need to book second appointments, so the mass vaccination sites
have fewer first dose appointments available on a weekly basis.
Educator
Vaccination Days
On
March 11, pursuant to a federal directive, approximately 400,000 K-12
educators, childcare workers and K-12 school staff are eligible to receive
COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts.
K-12
educators, childcare workers and K-12 school staff may receive vaccine from any
of the 170 public vaccine sites available on mass.gov/covidvaccine.
In an
effort to support the Biden-Harris Administration’s directive for states to
prioritize teacher vaccinations, the Administration will designate 4 days where
the state’s 7 mass vaccination sites will only offer 1st dose appointments for
K-12 educators, child care workers and K-12 school staff.
These
dates are: Saturday, March 27, Saturday, April 3, Saturday, April 10 and
Sunday, April 11
Workers
in this group must use the pre-registration system to request an appointment at
one of the seven mass vaccination sites and attest they are a K-12 educator,
childcare worker or K-12 school staff.
All
other vaccine providers (including Regional Collaboratives) are encouraged, but
not required, to restrict their appointments to K-12 educators, child care
workers and K-12 school staff on Saturday, March 27 , Saturday, April
3 , Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11, for consistency.
Providers may designate alternative dates, in lieu of the 4 dates designated by
the State, if necessary.
Clinics
may not restrict access to individuals who live or work in a particular
area.
All
vaccine providers (including regional collaboratives) must submit their dates
for educator clinics by Tuesday, March 16. The Command Center will post
the schedule for all clinics next week.
K-12
educators, childcare workers and K-12 school staff are urged to book
appointments through mass.gov/COVIDvaccine beginning on March
11 as well as to book through the federal retail pharmacy program’s CVS
website. Given the limited supply of vaccine, K-12 educators, childcare workers
and K-12 school staff may not receive vaccine until mid-April or later.
Mass
Vaccination Locations:
- Springfield,
Eastfield Mall
- Natick, Natick
Mall
- Foxboro,
Gillette Stadium
- Danvers,
Doubletree Hotel
- Boston, Fenway
Park (through 3/27) and Hynes Convention Center (starting 3/18)
- Roxbury, Reggie
Lewis Center
- Dartmouth,
Former Circuit City
Regional
Collaboratives:
- 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
- Lower Merrimack
Valley- Collaboration between Amesbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Merrimack,
Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Salisbury and West Newbury
- Southern
Worcester County Regional COVID-19 Vaccination Coalition- Collaboration
between Uxbridge, Northbridge, Mendon, Douglas, Bellingham, Blackstone,
Hopedale, Millville, Milford, Oxford, Upton, Sutton
