Inmates, homeless to start getting vax
Coronavirus vaccinations will become available to the 94,000 people who live and work in jails, homeless shelters, group homes and elderly communities on Monday as the state marches forward with its distribution plan.
“We made the decision early on that we were going to focus on what we consider to be populations that were most at risk, and all the data and all the evidence makes pretty clear that congregate care settings are atrisk communities no matter how you define them,” Gov. Charlie Baker said during a State House press briefing on Wednesday.
Baker also announced about 160,000 residents and staff of public and private low-income housing will move up the line to the top of Phase 2 in an effort to “ensure equitable distribution.”
So far, vaccines have been prioritized for COVID-facing health care workers, long-term care residents and first responders, who are listed as most at risk of contracting the deadly virus. The Baker administration’s decision to classify prisoners under Phase 1 of the state’s vaccine distribution plan saw some pushback, but Baker defended the move on Wednesday.
“I remind people that there are 4,500 public employees who work in the state’s correctional system who are every bit as much at risk as the people who are inmates there,” he said. “I think from our point of view, congregate facilities are congregate facilities.”
Baker laid out three options for how people in congregate facilities will be vaccinated: Organizations with the ability to inoculate more than 200 people can self-administer, obtain them through existing relationships with doctors and hospitals, or visit a mass vaccination site. The state’s first large site will open Thursday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
The state Department of Correction’s 6,500 inmates will be vaccinated over three weeks at its facilities. It remains to be seen how many prisoners will agree to the voluntary vaccine.
A recent survey by Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian revealed hesitancy among prisoners. Just 40% of the 406 incarcerated people who responded to the sheriff’s survey indicated they would want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available, but 60% of those said they would be open to changing their minds or learning more.
“With these baseline surveys, we can not only understand how many people are initially interested in receiving vaccinations but how we can encourage more people to receive them through educational and informational efforts,” Koutoujian said.
Massachusetts has administered fewer doses so far than surrounding states. As of Wednesday, the 656,850 doses have been distributed and nearly 217,500 people here have received the first shot, according to the CDC.