PEOPLE 60 OR UP CAN NOW BE VACCINATED
Grocery clerks, T drivers eligible
Many essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic — those checking out shoppers at the grocery store, cooking meals and driving the T’s trolleys — will finally become eligible for the vaccine today.
Massachusetts workers in certain sectors and also residents age 60 and older will qualify for the coronavirus vaccine, significantly expanding the pool this week.
This Phase 2 expansion comes after the state in early February opened up the vaccine to people 75-plus, then in mid-February to people 65-plus and those with two or more certain medical conditions. Next up were K-12 educators, K-12 school staff, and child-care workers.
Now the pool gets even larger today as hundreds of thousands more vaccine doses are coming to the Bay
State in the coming weeks.
Among the essential workers who become eligible today are grocery store, restaurant, funeral, public health, convenience store, sanitation, court system, public works, utility, vaccine development, meatpacking, food pantry, medical supply chain and transit workers.
“Coming just days after National Transit Driver Appreciation Day, the timing is terrific,” MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said about transit workers becoming eligible. “Providing public transit service each day throughout the pandemic, the MBTA’s front-line employees are to be praised for their dedication, sacrifice and jobs well done.
“As they receive their vaccine doses, it’s important to recognize and thank the nearly 3,000 men and women who operate MBTA buses, trains, trolleys, ferries and RIDE vehicles,” Pesaturo added.
Gov. Charlie Baker, who is 64, now becomes eligible for the vaccine among the 60-plus group.
Following this next pool of eligibility, residents ages 55 and up and those with one medical comorbidity will qualify for the vaccine on April 5. Those medical conditions include moderate-to-severe asthma, cancer, certain heart conditions, organ transplant, obesity, pregnancy, smoking and Type 2 diabetes.
All Massachusetts residents ages 16 and older will then be eligible for the vaccine on April 19.
Residents can go through the state’s preregistration system to schedule an appointment at one of the seven mass vaccination locations. The vaccine is also available at other sites and pharmacies across the state, including CVS locations.