Residents Reminded COVID-19 Vaccination Won’t Be Available to General Public Until Spring
IPSWICH — Director of Public Health Colleen Fermon wishes to provide residents with information pertaining to the state’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan.
The Baker-Polito Administration announced the state’s phased plan for COVID-19 vaccination in early December. The plan makes the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines available to groups ranked by priority, and vaccinations began under phase one of the plan in December. Both strains of the vaccination will require two doses, given approximately three to four weeks apart.
At this time, the state is in phase one of the distribution plan, and Ipswich first responders began receiving the vaccination on Monday. Next week, those currently eligible through phase one will have the opportunity to be vaccinated at mass vaccination clinics and a limited number of retail pharmacies. Next week staff and residents of congregate care settings, including shelters and prisons, will also become eligible to be vaccinated. To learn more and view the latest updates regarding vaccination distribution in Massachusetts, visit the state’s website by clicking here.
The vaccine will not be available to the general public through the state’s distribution plan until April, at the earliest.
“Getting vaccinated is the next step at combatting this pandemic, and we know it is at the forefront of residents’ minds right now,” Director Fermon said. “However, under the state’s distribution plan the vaccine will not be available to the general public until April, at the earliest. The past several months have been long and difficult, and we want residents to know that we appreciate their continued cooperation and patience. As more information about vaccination distribution becomes available and more groups of people become eligible to receive it, we will provide regular and timely updates.”
The Town of Ipswich also wishes to share the following information about the state’s distribution plan for the vaccine over the coming months:
- Phase one of the state’s vaccination distribution plan began in December 2020 and is estimated to continue into February. Phase one vaccinations are being provided to those in the following groups, in order of priority:
- Clinical and non-clinical health care workers giving direct and COVID-19 facing care.
- Long-term care facilities, rest homes, assisted living facilities.
- First responders including police, fire and emergency medical services. This includes interfacility transport workers, MedFlight staff, college and university campus police, and 911 dispatch employees.
- Congregate care settings, including corrections and shelters.
- Home-based health care workers.
- Health care workers providing non-COVID-19 facing care. This does not include those who do not come in contact with patients, however. For more information on the types of health care workers included in phase one, click here.
- Phase two of the state’s vaccination distribution plan is anticipated to begin in February and continue into March. Phase two vaccinations will be provided to those in the following groups, in order of priority:
- Individuals with two or more co-morbid conditions, who are at a high risk for COVID-19 complications, and/or those age 75 and older. To review conditions that may put an individual at an increased risk for COVID-19 complications, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website here.
- Professionals in the fields of early education, K-12, transit, grocery, utility, food and agriculture, restaurant and café workers; employees across the food, beverage, agriculture, consumer goods, retail and foodservice sectors; meatpackers; sanitation, public works and public health workers, vaccine development workers, food pantry workers, Uber/Lyft/ride share services/pharmacy delivery drivers (under transit/transportation workers), workers in passenger ground transpiration; convenience store workers (under grocery workers); waste and wastewater utility staff; court system workers.
- Adults age 65 and older.
- Individuals with one co-morbid condition.
- Phase three of the state’s vaccination distribution plan is anticipated to begin in April. At this time the vaccine will become available to the general public.
- When phase three begins, public vaccine clinics will be listed on the CDC’s interactive website here. People will also be able to contact their primary care providers, local pharmacies and/or local health departments at this time.
For more information about the state’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan, visit the state’s website here. Those with additional questions can contact the Department of Public Health by emailing covid-19-vaccine-plan-ma@mass.gov.
For the latest COVID-19 updates for the Town of Ipswich, visit ipswichcovid19.com.
###
