BOSTON — The administration of Gov. Charlie Baker announced that individuals age 65 and older, and those with two or more chronic health conditions including asthma, can visit mass.gov/covidvaccine to start booking an appointment for a vaccine beginning tomorrow, Feb. 18. With this announcement, almost 1 million individuals are newly eligible for the vaccine, Baker’s office said in a briefing today.
Because of extremely high demand for appointments and limited vaccine supply, it could take more than a month for all eligible individuals to secure an available appointment, unless federal supply significantly increases. Recently, Massachusetts has been receiving approximately 110,000 first doses per week from the federal government. Residents are encouraged to keep checking the website as appointments are added on a rolling basis.
See video below of today’s COVID-19 briefing from Gov. Baker and members of his administration in Boston:
Individuals 65 and older:
Individuals 65 and older, including residents and staff of low-income and affordable public and private senior housing, are eligible to receive a vaccine effective tomorrow, Feb. 18. Residents and staff of low-income and affordable public and private senior housing can learn more about vaccination options here.
Individuals with 2+ Certain Medical Conditions:
Individuals 16 and older with two or more of the medical conditions listed below are eligible for the vaccine, effective tomorrow. In concert with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state has adopted a list of conditions that cause individuals to be at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Massachusetts has also identified moderate to severe asthma as an eligible medical condition.
Phase 2 eligible conditions:
- Asthma (moderate to severe)
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Down Syndrome
- Heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- Immunocompromised (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
- Obesity and severe obesity, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or higher
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Smoking
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Learn more from CDC: COVID-19: People with Certain Medical Conditions
Mass Vaccination Appointments:
Tomorrow morning, Thursday, Feb. 18, more than 70,000 appointments are scheduled to be posted at mass vaccination sites (Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Double Tree Hotel in Danvers, Fenway Park in Boston, and Gillette Stadium in Foxboro).
Details for booking can be found via the COVID-19 Vaccine Finder, which enables residents to search for a vaccination location and view appointment availability before scheduling. The tool can be accessed via the state’s vaccination website at mass.gov/COVIDvaccine or directly at vaxfinder.mass.gov.
Individuals who are unable to access appointments via the internet can call 211 and follow the prompts to make an appointment.
There are currently over 170 vaccination locations across Massachusetts. Nearly 95% of the state’s population lives within a 45-minute drive of a mass vaccination site or within 30 minutes of a regional (high-volume site) — not counting the pharmacy, provider ,and community health center vaccination sites.
Local Boards of Health:
Today, local boards of health were informed of the state’s streamlined vaccination distribution plan that prioritizes equity and high-capacity throughput vaccination, particularly as the vaccine supply from the federal government remains extremely constrained.
This streamlined distribution plan will increase vaccine access at high-throughput vaccination locations such as mass vaccination sites or regional sites, and at pharmacy sites. In addition to increasing efficiency in administering the vaccine, the state will ensure the program is equitable and meets the needs of communities that have been the most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Utilizing the social vulnerability index as a starting point, the Department of Public Health has identified 20 municipalities that have had the greatest COVID burden and the greatest percentage of non-white residents. These municipalities are: Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Randolph, Revere, Springfield, and Worcester.
These municipalities will continue to distribute vaccine at the local level, are prioritized for the retail pharmacy program, and are served by community health centers and other healthcare providers administering the vaccine.
The Baker administration says local boards of health will continue to play a crucial role in its collective plan to curb COVID-19.
The administration is asking local boards of health to support the following critical objectives:
- Planning to vaccinate homebound individuals in their community and older adults in private and public low-income and affordable housing
- Encouraging residents to get vaccinated at mass vaccination sites, retail pharmacies, and other locations open to all residents
- Increasing vaccine awareness of safety and efficacy so that, when the state does have more incoming vaccine from the federal government, and as more groups become eligible, communities are ready and willing to accept it
