Some boards of health, hospitals back in vax loop
Baker reverses course, will spread doses
Gov. Charlie Baker signaled hope is on the horizon, citing “positive” news on vaccines, and reversed course on several policies cutting off vaccine supply to hospitals and local boards of health following an uproar among local and health officials.
“On the same day, to have Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine deemed safe and effective by the FDA and to have Moderna and Pfizer say they would double their vaccine production in March over the level of vaccine production they did in February is a really positive development in so many ways,” Baker said during a tour of a new mass vaccination site in Natick. “This could be a really big moment if in fact what folks are saying actually plays out over the course of the next 30 to 45 days.”
At least 15 hospitals and health care systems will be able to resume scheduling new appointments for coronavirus vaccines less than two weeks after the state said their doses would be “severely limited” for some time as the Baker administration pushed its own limited supply toward mass vaccination sites and community health centers.
Thirteen of the hospitals, including Boston Medical Center, UMass Medical Center and hospitals on the Cape and Islands will be receiving doses to help vaccinate the general public. Two larger health care systems, Beth Israel Lahey Health and Mass General Brigham, will be directing their renewed supply exclusively toward patients.
“The administration understands the important role health systems play in the lives of residents of the Commonwealth and as such, the Command Center worked with the Massachusetts Hospital Association to provide a limited supply of vaccines to select hospitals and health systems,” COVID-19 Command Center spokeswoman Kate Reilly said.
Beth Israel Lahey Health is already working to schedule new appointments. The hospital system sent an email to 232,000 currently eligible patients on Tuesday saying it will resume offering “limited new appointments” for vaccines across its 10 community vaccination clinics.
“We have been working collaboratively with the state and are pleased that we can resume contacting and scheduling eligible patients for vaccination,” spokeswoman Jennifer Kritz said in a statement.
Mass General Brigham will begin scheduling new appointments on Monday after having to slow down its clinics amid limited supply from the state.
Tufts Medical Center was not immediately identified as one of the hospital systems receiving more vaccine.
The governor on Wednesday also announced local boards of health would play a major role in vaccine distribution at 11 regional sites one week after local health officials gasped at his decision to cut them off from supplies. The regional sites will open to all eligible Massachusetts residents starting Monday and will have the capacity to administer at least 750 shots each per day, depending on dose availability.
The Baker administration also announced $4.7 million in funding for a vaccine equity initiative announced last week, focused on 20 communities that have been hard-hit by the pandemic.
The governor on Wednesday also announced local boards of health would play a major role in vaccine distribution at 11 regional sites.