Cromwell fields vaccine requests as eligibility widens; clinics planned in East Hampton, Portland

CROMWELL – The telephones were “ringing off the wall” Monday as the state expanded its coronavirus vaccination eligibility to include persons over 55.

In addition to expanding vaccinations for those in the 55-64 age group, Gov. Ned Lamont last week widened efforts to ensure that teachers and education staff also received shots.

Advocates for teachers and staff have said that having education professionals inoculated could lead to wider reopening of schools in districts that are still offering virtual learning.

In anticipation of a blizzard of phone calls on Monday,

Salvatore Nesci, Cromwell’s public health coordinator, “made sure our volunteers were fully staffed.”

That proved to be a wise decision, Nesci acknowledged during a conversation Monday afternoon.

“We had an influx of calls” when Town Mall opened Monday morning, he said.

The volunteers take down the personal data that starts the process for getting residents to get an appointment for a vaccination.

In coordination with Durham, Middlefield, and Middletown, Cromwell runs by-appointment vaccination clinics on Wednesday mornings in the Cromwell Town Hall gymnasium.

The wide expansion of the state’s COVID-19 inundated some phone and online registration systems, but state officials said the process would “smooth out.”

There are no about 610,000 people eligible to enroll for vaccines.

For the present, at least, teachers and daycare providers appear to be relying upon the Centers for Disease Control’s VAMS program (Vaccine Administration Management System) to scheduled appointments with large-volume vaccine providers, officials said.

Meanwhile, in East Hampton, Superintendent of Schools Paul K. Smith said, “We are working with the Chatham Health District to have a vaccination clinic at East Hampton High School for East Hampton school staff and Portland school staff on March 12 and April 9.”

In addition, Smith said CHD Health Director Russell L. Melmed “is working with the East Hampton Senior Center and planning to use East Hampton High School to vaccinate eligible age groups on March 17 and April 14.”