Vaccine Supply Slows Medford, Malden Regional Clinics

MEDFORD, MA — Vaccine doses are in short supply in communities across Massachusetts as officials prioritize state-run sites. In Medford, Malden and the other communities participating in a regional vaccine effort, this is hampering the development of clinics for Phase 2, Medford officials said Friday.

"For the next week or two, there will probably not be any clinics," Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said.

The communities participating in the region-wide effort are Medford, Malden, Melrose, Wakefield, Stoneham and Winchester. Residents will be able to get vaccinated at any clinic offered in these towns once they are set up.

In the meantime, officials are directing residents eligible for the vaccine to go to one of the state-run sites at Fenway, Gillette or Danvers. Residents have been particularly successful securing an appointment in Danvers, Health Director MaryAnn O'Connor said.

There may be enough vaccines by mid-February to start offering regional clinics, Lungo-Koehn said. The communities are pooling their doses, and administering of the vaccine will be population-based.

Malden will get the highest percentage of doses, followed by Medford, Melrose, Wakefield, Winchester and Stoneham, O'Connor said.

"That's the only way we figured we could do it equitably," she said. "It's still not a lot of doses."