No New Local Clinics Planned at This Time
GLOUCESTER — Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and Public Health Director Karin Carroll wish to share an update regarding COVID-19 vaccinations and the city’s clinic following announcements issued by the state this week.
Massachusetts residents 65-years-old and older, residents and staff of low income and affordable public and private senior housing, as well as those 16-years-old and older with two or more comorbidities became eligible yesterday to begin making vaccination appointments.
Eligible comorbidities include: moderate to severe asthma, cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, down syndrome, heart conditions, immunocompromised individuals from a solid organ transplant, obesity and severe obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, smoking and type two diabetes mellitus.
Due to a high demand for vaccinations and limited supply at this time, state officials warned on Wednesday that those who became eligible yesterday could be waiting more than one month before receiving their first dose.
Residents that became eligible this week can seek a vaccination appointment through a mass vaccination site, and/or may contact their local pharmacy to see if vaccination appointments are available. The closest mass vaccination site is at the DoubleTree Hotel in Danvers.
To make an appointment at a vaccination site:
- Visit mass.gov/COVID-vaccine to find your phase and priority group
- If you’re eligible, visit https://vaxfinder.mass.gov/ to find a vaccine clinic near you
- Make an appointment online and fill out the attestation form
Those without internet access may also call 211 for assistance making an appointment.
The 211 line can be accessed by dialing 2–1–1 and selecting the prompt for “Help Scheduling a Vaccine Appointment.” The hotline is only available for residents eligible for the vaccine without internet access or who otherwise cannot use the appointment site, and will take calls Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Translators will be available to help through the 211 line. Callers will be able to speak with a live representative who will help them find a nearby vaccination location and make an appointment.
If you received your first vaccine at the Rose Baker Senior Center, the City of Gloucester will distribute second vaccination doses as planned in early March, however, no additional first doses will be allocated to the city for distribution at this time. The Senior Center is no longer maintaining a call-back list for vaccine appointments including appointments for homebound seniors.
The state will also be launching a vaccination program for homebound individuals in the coming weeks.
This January and February, the City of Gloucester successfully coordinated a regional clinic with Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Essex and Ipswich, through which 500 regional first responders and individuals eligible through phase 1 of the state’s vaccination distribution plan were vaccinated. The City of Gloucester has also vaccinated 280 individuals 75-years-old and older and 220 additional individuals eligible under phase 1 in the community through city-specific vaccination efforts.
The City of Gloucester will continue to share any and all updates regarding local and regional vaccination opportunities at the City of Gloucester’s website here, the Health Department’s Facebook Page @GloucesterMAHealthDepartment here, Mayor Romeo Theken’s Facebook Page @MayorSefatia here and by robocall.
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