MA Still Needs To Vaccinate 40% Of Residents Over 75

MASSACHUSETTS — Nearly two in five Massachusetts residents over the age of 75 have not received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, delaying the state's efforts to begin vaccinating other groups under its three-phase vaccination plan.

In a Massachusetts Municipal Association conference call with state health and local government officials Monday, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said about 200,000, or 61.7 percent, of the state's 324,000 residents over the age of 75 have received the first of two doses of the vaccine. The effort has been slowed by an online sign-up process that was confusing to many older residents. On Friday, the state set up a phone line for people to schedule vaccination appointments.

"We’ve got a little more work to do with our over 75s before we can open up to 65-plus and people with medical conditions," Polito said. "Then we’re looking at the public workforce."

The next phase of the vaccination enrollment targets about 500,000 Massachusetts residents, including people between the ages of 65 and 75 and people with two or more medical conditions that increase their risk of serious illness or death if they contract COVID-19. That group would be followed by transit, grocery store, utility and restaurant workers, among others whose jobs put them in frequent contact with the public.

Nationally, the vaccine has been in short supply and Massachusetts has prioritized deliveries to mass vaccination sites in Boston, Danvers, Foxborough and Springfield over by deliveries to doctors' offices and pharmacies.

"If every community set up a clinic, we would not have enough doses or the bandwidth to manage that," Polito said. "We think the regional approach is more efficient...to determine how to distribute doses."

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).