SURGE OF VACCINE COULD FIGHT SPIKE

Former FDA boss says Mass. needs an influx of shots to battle rising cases

A new strategy of surging more vaccine doses into coronavirus hotspots, including “red zones” like Massachusetts, was floated by a former FDA commissioner on Sunday as virus cases yet again spike in the Bay State.

Massachusetts’ rising case counts were highlighted on national TV Sunday morning.

Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the feds should start sending more vaccine doses to hotspots including the Bay State.

“What we’re seeing around the nation right now, which is worrisome, are outbreaks in certain states — Michigan, the metro Detroit area, Boston around Massachusetts, the Tri-state region, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, are experiencing an upsurge of infection,” Gottlieb said Sturday on CBS’ “Face The Nation.”

“And I think what we need to do is try to … surge vaccine into those parts of the country,” he said.

The state’s daily virus cases have shot up by more than 40% since the first week of March after infections had been declining for weeks.

During the week of March 7, the average case tally was 1,329 cases compared to an average of 1,866 cases in the last week.

“I feel this could be the start of the third wave,” Yarmouth Health Director Bruce Murphy told the Herald.

“It’s a combination of things between the new variants, people not taking all the precautions, going to social gatherings, not wearing masks,” Murphy said.

“We really need to move to emergency vaccination sites to get ahead of this next wave,” he said.

Pulsing more vaccine into hotspots like Massachusetts is “definitely a

STuART cAHILL / HeRALd STAFF FILe GETTING THE VACCINE INTO ARMS: Registered nurse Stephanie Parker gives a coronavirus vaccine injection to a patient at the Cape Cod Melody Tent drive-thru mass injection site in Hyannis on Feb. 11, which was set up to get shots to an area that was far from the original mass vaccination sites.