Massachusetts tops 15,000 COVID-19 deaths
State has also administered over 1 million vaccine doses
Boston (AP) — More than 15,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Massachusetts.
The number of newly confirmed coronavirus deaths rose by 87 on Friday, pushing the state’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll to 15,051 since the start of the pandemic.It
took the state less than a year to cross the troubling marker. The first confirmed COVID-19 death, a man in his 80s from Suffolk County, occurred March 20 last year.
The number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by more than 2,200 and its confirmed caseload rose to more than 525,000.
The true number of cases is likely higher because studies suggest some people can be infected and not feel sick.
There were more than 1,200 people reported hospitalized Friday because of confirmed cases of COVID-19, with about 300 in intensive care units.
The average age of those hospitalized was 72. There were an estimated more than 48,000 people with current active cases of COVID-19 in the state.
The number of probable or confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported in long-term care facilities rose to 8,327.
Online vaccine finder
Massachusetts has launched an online tool designed to make it easier for residents to find COVID-19 vaccination locations, the administration of Gov. Charlie Baker announced Friday.
The online vaccine finder is available to all residents and will let users view appointment availability for some sites before scheduling.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Finder lets individuals search for locations near them by entering their ZIP code, city or town name, or the name of a vaccination location. Residents can also filter results by site type, such as mass vaccination locations, locations run by local health departments, retail pharmacies or health care locations.
The tool can be accessed through the state’s vaccination website at www.mass. gov/COVIDvaccine or directly at https://vaxfinder.mass. gov.
The finder displays all vaccination locations open to residents, but includes only appointment details for mass vaccination locations and some sites operated by local health departments. Appointment details for additional sites will be added later.
Once a user selects a location they can view available appointments, what type of vaccine is being offered — Pfizer or Moderna — directions, whether the site in indoors or outdoors, and disability access information.
The tool updates appointment availability every five minutes for participating vaccination locations.
Million shots
Massachusetts has administered more than a million vaccine doses to residents, health officials announced Friday.
The state crossed the threshold Thursday evening. Official said the state has surpassed the first benchmark set for Phase 2 vaccinations, administering 242,000 doses since Sunday.
As of Friday morning, over 20,000 appointments for the coming days were still available at mass vaccination sites in Danvers, Springfield, Foxboro and Boston for residents 75 years or older and others eligible to be vaccinated.
Beginning today, the state’s vaccine scheduling hotline will extend its hours to include weekends and weekday evenings. People can reach the hotline by dialing 211 from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
Older residents
Some people in Massachusetts are offering rides and even money for a chance to take advantage of a state rule that allows those who accompany people age 75 and older to a coronavirus vaccination appointment to get a shot at the same time.
But the rash of online ads from people looking to cut the vaccination line drew a stern rebuke from Baker, who warned against offers of help from strangers.
“If you’re contacted by somebody soliciting to take you to a site, please report it to the authorities,” Baker said Thursday.
Seniors should accept help only from someone they trust, he said.
Some officials called on the Republican governor to put the vaccine companion program on hold.
“While it may have been well-meaning, it took less than 24 hours for this new state policy to be abused,” Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell in a statement.
Democratic state Rep. Steve Owens said a group of lawmakers have urged Baker to pause the program, noting that he saw an ad from someone offering $250 to drive an eligible resident to a vaccination site.
Hospital vaccinations
Hospitals across Massachusetts will stop scheduling new coronavirus vaccine appointments as the state diverts the supply to other areas.
People who already have appointments for first or second doses at a hospital will still get them.
“We were informed by the state that due to limitations in vaccine supply that we at Mass General Brigham are to stop scheduling new first dose appointments for vaccines for both patients and health care workers,” Dr. Tom Sequist, the chief patient experience and equity officer at the state’s largest hospital system, told the Boston Herald on Thursday.
Kate Reilly, a spokeswoman for the state COVID-19 Response Command Center, said vaccine supplies from the federal government have not increased for several weeks, so more doses will be sent to mass vaccination sites, retail pharmacies, and community health centers until more vaccines are made available.