Devens site fills void in state’s vax operation

Devens has already earned a reputation as a regional economic dynamo, so it only makes sense to transfer that prowess into the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

And come May, that’s exactly what will happen.

That’s when a regional vaccination site will open there — a first for the Nashoba Valley, one that has been months in the making.

Open to all state residents, the facility will be housed at Clear Path for Veterans New England, 84 Antietam St., the former Cutler Army Hospital.

While the state has made great strides in making vaccines available to residents — with close to 4.9 million shots administered and almost 2 million people fully vaccinated — there’s still more work to be done, especially in Nashoba Valley towns and other Central Mass. communities.

Reaching this point has been the culmination of a truly bipartisan effort among the area’s state legislators.

“After months of working alongside Reps. Sheila Harrington and Danillo Sena and Sen. Jamie Eldridge and the rest of the Nashoba Valley legislative delegation, it’s wonderful to hear of the new regional vaccine site that will open in Devens,” state Rep. Jim Arciero, a Westford Democrat, said in a statement. Approved Tuesday by the Baker-polito administration from scores of applicants, Devens will provide a welcome local option for those in the Nashoba Valley and beyond, given its proximity to both Route 2 and Interstate 495.

It’s a far more convenient option than travelling to one of those mass vaccination sites in Foxboro, Boston, Danvers and elsewhere, or even the smaller regional center in Lowell.

Although open to all Massachusetts residents, the area’s State House delegation hopes partnerships with local boards of health and councils on aging will help Nashoba Valley residents get appointments.

Eldridge said he’d heard from town administrators and council on aging directors that seniors, those with serious health conditions and those with disabilities about the need for a local site.

“There’s a vaccination desert, if you will, in the Nashoba Valley, in North Central Mass.,” said the Acton Democrat, “and the Devens site would be the best one to address those gaps.”

Littleton Town Administrator Anthony Ansaldi told the newspaper he was “frustrated” that, at one point, the entire Nashoba Valley, comprising 130,000 residents, received just 100 vaccines, the same number allotted to the town of Acton alone.

Some Nashoba Valley residents already have offered their services to help with vaccine site’s rollout and operation. Rep. Harrington, a Groton Republican who led the charge on the effort, said that, inspired by a tip she heard at the nail salon, she reached out to retired Groton Police Chief Don Palma to handle the logistics of the site, an opportunity he took on without hesitation given his background in event planning.

He said he plans to rely “heavily” on volunteers from the Nashoba Valley towns for everything from vaccine administration to data entry and escorting seniors or others who need assistance into the site. “It’s been a little bit daunting, it was new to me, but it’s along the same lines of large-scale event planning,” he said of his duties.

John Masiello, owner of Masy Bioservices, a Pepperellbased company that specializes in medical storage and transportation, will assist with those aspects for the Nashoba Valley site.

Masy’s services will come in handy to store the Pfizer vaccine in particular, which requires temperatures of -70 degrees Celsius.

It’s obvious that procuring this Devens vaccination center has been a truly team effort among many state lawmakers and the people they represent.

While it can’t control the number of vaccines the state will send its way, we’re certain the Devens site, like Lowell’s, will stand out as an efficient, user-friendly regional model.

Anyone wishing to volunteer at the site should email Don Palma at dpalma@ grotonma. gov.