Franklincountynow.com Staff Report
(BOSTON) — Massachusetts is opening two additional mass vaccination sites this month, in Natick and Dartmouth, as the state ramps up its effort to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday.
The announcement comes as 74,000 appointments are scheduled to be posted online for mass vaccination sites and pharmacies at locations statewide on Thursday.
An additional 30,000 appointments will be posted over the course of the week at pharmacies, for a total of more than 100,000 new appointments this week.
The Natick location will open Feb. 22 at the Natick Mall and will begin administering 500 doses per day, accelerating over the course of several weeks to 3,000 doses daily.
Also beginning Thursday at mass vaccination sites, caregivers who are accompanying a person 75 or older may schedule their own vaccination at the same time and location.
Only one caregiver is permitted to schedule an appointment with the older resident. Caregivers may receive their first dose of the vaccine even if the older resident is receiving their second dose.
Public health officials also reported that the state has wasted over 1,200 doses of the coronavirus vaccine, a small portion of the nearly 1 million doses shipped to Massachusetts so far.
NATIONAL GUARD
The Massachusetts National Guard has joined the state’s effort to administer COVID-19 shots.
The guard said in a press release Wednesday that beginning last week, 10 medically qualified Guard members began working with the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center to administer vaccines.
On Wednesday, two teams of 10 Guard members were on site at the Springfield and Danvers mass vaccination sites to assist in administering vaccines.
The mission is federally funded.