Friday Marlborough Coronavirus Vaccine Clinic May Be City's Last

MARLBOROUGH, MA — A Marlborough coronavirus vaccine clinic scheduled for Friday at the senior center may the city's last under a new state policy.

On Wednesday, state officials told cities and towns that they will no longer get vaccine doses for local vaccine clinics beginning March 1. The change comes as the state prepares to begin offering doses to people over 65 and people with two or more special medical conditions on Thursday.

Gov. Charlie Baker signaled the shift in a press conference Wednesday, saying mass vaccination sites are the best way to get more people inoculated.

"The big message we got from the public was: 'Vaccinate! Vaccinate!' There's no question the fastest way to do this is with high-volume sites," Baker said.

In a vaccine update Monday, the Marlborough Health Department said there are no other vaccine clinics in the works beyond Friday because no more doses have been allocated to the city by state officials.

"The Health Department can only plan vaccination clinics once the quantity of doses received from the State is known," the bulletin said. "We do not anticipate any vaccine to be allotted to us this week."

Towns and cities like Marlborough that have already hosted vaccine clinics will still get second-round doses for people who have received a first shot. Both the Moderna and Pfizer versions require two shots.

A vaccine supersite opened this week at Worcester State University. A second will open on Feb. 22 at the Natick Mall.