The rush of opening day
Danvers mass vax site keeps busy
The Danvers coronavirus vaccination site is the latest mass vax site to open to Massachusetts residents, and the hotel location had a “steady stream” on Wednesday and gave out hundreds of the coveted shot, a site leader told the Herald.
The site at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Danvers opened to the public on Wednesday and is serving all eligible priority groups. It’s the state’s fifth mass vax site to open, and the first mass site north of Boston.
With a “steady stream” throughout the day, the site was on pace to administer about 500 Pfizer doses on its opening day, Curative’s Sly Douglas told the Herald.
“We had a nice steady flow today, and we’re absolutely overjoyed,” said Douglas, the Northeast Regional Lead for Curative, which runs the mass vax site. “Our hearts are filled with hope and enthusiasm.”
The site will steadily climb to about 3,000 shots per day, he said.
They set up 14 stations for the first day, and they’ll eventually get up to 27 stations.
“We’ll keep turning on the faucet a bit more, increasing the number of slots per halfhour block and hiring more staff,” Douglas said.
One of the first people to get a shot on Wednesday was an older woman who hasn’t been able to see her grandchildren for months. She cried after getting the shot, Douglas said.
“It’s absolutely an exciting time and a hopeful time for so many,” he said. “I’m energized when I see the resolve of these older patients in their 90s finding a way to get here and making it happen.
“I’ve told our staff that we’re not just going to try to provide an end to this pandemic, but we are going to provide hope,” Douglas added. “You cannot put a dollar amount on hope and encouragement.”
Four other mass vax sites have been administering shots in Massachusetts. Gillette Stadium in Foxboro was the first one to open, and 23,000 doses have been administered so far.
Springfield’s Eastfield Mall opened its site last Friday, and both Boston’s Fenway Park and the Reggie Lewis Center opened to the public this week. The Baker administration expects at least seven mass vaccination sites to be established in the state.
As of Wednesday, the Danvers site website had no available appointments through Feb. 14. Each Thursday, new appointments will be available for the mass vax sites. This week, more than 55,000 new appointments will go live for the following week.
“For people seeking appointments, everybody should understand that it may take several weeks in some cases to schedule an appointment,” Gov. Charlie Baker said at a Wednesday press conference. “Please be patient.”
Residents can use the map or zip code search tool to find a vaccination location near them at mass.gov/COVIDVaccine.