Natick Offers Coronavirus Vaccine Alert System

NATICK, MA — Massachusetts on Monday began allowing residents over age 75 to get COVID-19 vaccines, and more groups will be eligible for the vaccine in the coming weeks.

To help town residents find out exactly when it's their turn, the Natick Health Department has set up an email and text message alert system. When you sign up, the town will notify you about upcoming vaccine clinics.

Health departments in towns Natick's size will be getting about 100 doses of the Moderna vaccine per week, state officials have said. However, nearby communities like Framingham and Worcester are getting more due to their larger populations.

Massachusetts has lagged other states in distributing coronavirus vaccines. The state was giving out vaccines at a rate of about 8.83 doses per 100,000 people as of Monday, according to Bloomberg. That's below the nationwide average of 10 doses per 100,o00.

The state on Monday opened two mass vaccination sites at Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park. Those sites are only open to people over 75 at the moment.

The next group eligible for vaccines will be people over 65 and people with two or more special medical conditions. The third group in phase two includes teachers, transit operators, restaurant workers, retail and grocery workers and many more.

Most state residents will get vaccines in phase three, which may not begin until April or later.