BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts is ramping up its vaccination efforts and is hoping to administer up to a million vaccines a month by the spring, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday.
In the meantime, Baker urged residents to be patient.
There are currently 125 sites up and running, including a handful of mass vaccination sites and sites at dozens of community health centers, the Republican said.
By the middle of the month, the number should increase to about 165.
Baker said the state is also making an effort to increase vaccinations among those hardest hit by the pandemic, including Black residents.
The state is working with trusted organizations in local communities, and in Boston the city is setting up specific days to vaccinate neighborhood residents, he said.
Baker made the comments at Fenway Park, which has been turned into a mass vaccination site.
The ballpark is planning to ramp up to about 1,000 shots a day next week and 1,200 the following week with a goal of up to 8,000 doses a week in the near future, Baker said.
Baker said he understands many people want the process to go faster.
“I get how unhappy people are,” he said.
Some of the frustration he said was because of the phased rollout that targeted specific groups first like medical workers and those in long-term care facilities.
But he also acknowledged there are extra steps the state can take, like launching a hotline to help people, especially seniors, who may have trouble signing up for an appointment online.
He said the hotline should be up and running this week.
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VIRUS BY THE NUMBERS
The number of newly confirmed coronavirus deaths rose by 53 on Wednesday, pushing the state’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll to 14,415 since the start of the pandemic.
The number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by about 2,200 and its confirmed caseload rose to more than 504,000.
The true number of cases is likely higher because studies suggest some people can be infected and not feel sick.
There were more than 1,600 people reported hospitalized Wednesday because of confirmed cases of COVID-19, with about 330 in intensive care units.
The average age of those hospitalized was 68. There were an estimated more than 64,000 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 8,126.
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FEMA GRANT
Massachusetts is set to receive more than $213 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with emergency protective measures to store, handle, transport, distribute, and administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Jan. 28, the state had administered about 496,000 doses of the vaccine at an average rate of approximately 12,000 doses per day.
The grant can be spent on a number of things including personal protective equipment, vaccine storage equipment - including coolers, freezers, temperature monitoring devices - portable vaccine storage units for transportation and other supplies.
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TRIPADVISOR-VACCINE SITE
Tripadvisor opened its currently unoccupied corporate headquarters in Needham, Massachusetts, on Wednesday as a COVID-19 vaccination site, the online travel company announced.
The vaccination site, managed by Newton-Wellesley Hospital, will operate by appointment only, seven days a week, with the capability to administer 630 vaccines per day, and the ability to expand that based on supply, the company said in a statement.
The vaccinations will be limited to patients eligible under state guidelines who are patients within the Mass General Brigham health care organization, of which Newton-Wellesley is a part.
Tripadvisor laid off workers last spring soon after the pandemic struck and the travel industry tanked, while other employees are working remotely.
“We’re glad to do our part to help our local community recover from COVID-19,” Steve Kaufer, CEO and cofounder of Tripadvisor Inc., said in a statement.
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NEW COVID-19 COMMITTEE
A legislative committee charged with monitoring and investigating issues related to the state’s COVID-19 emergency response and recovery is one of three new joint House and Senate committees announced Wednesday by Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano.
This committee will have the ability to conduct oversight hearings to investigate and gather information, as well as participate in hearings with other committees, the Democrats said in a written statement.
The committee will also consider matters related to pandemic and disaster preparedness and emergency management and communication.
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JAIL-NEW CASES
The Middlesex County jail has its first positive coronavirus cases since late September, jail officials say.
Two inmates at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction in Billerica have tested positive, Sheriff Peter Koutoujian’s office said in a statement Tuesday. Both men have been placed in precautionary quarantine, according to the statement.
Nearly 170 inmates and more than 360 sheriff’s office workers have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the statement said. All inmates who wanted the vaccine were administered one.
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VACCINATION HOTLINE
The city of Lawrence has set up a telephone hotline so residents without access to a computer can book a COVID-19 vaccination appointment.
Starting Wednesday, eligible residents ages 75 and older can call from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays to register for vaccinations at the South Lawrence East Elementary School, The Eagle-Tribune reported.
The call takers are bilingual.
The center was created after complaints from older residents who experienced difficulty and confusion trying to book vaccinations online.
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