Newton-Wellesley Hospital Opens Vaccine Center At Tripadvisor

NEWTON, MA — Newton-Wellesley Hospital partnered with Tripadvisor to use its temporarily unoccupied global corporate headquarters along Interstate 95 as a community vaccination center for eligible Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Mass General Brigham patients.

The partnership represents the first large private sector company to turn over its corporate headquarters rent-free to help ensure people get vaccinated, according to Newton-Needham Regional Chamber president Greg Reibman, which said the chamber of commerce helped connect the hospital and the business.

"Credit the Tripadvisor team for wanting to step up for the greater good in a crisis (at a time when their own business has suffered substantially) and to the town for making it happen quickly," Reibman said. "And, of course, we’re all grateful to Newton Wellesley and to medical and frontline workers everywhere for all they’ve done for our communities during this hellish year."

Newton-Wellesley Hospital will manage the community vaccine program out of the building seven days a week. Only patients with scheduled appointments will be accommodated —there will be no walk-in service.

The hospital aims to initially vaccinate 630 patients per day, depending on supply, and has plans to expand access.

"The way to a post-pandemic world includes the equitable distribution of a vaccine, and we’re pleased we can partner with Newton-Wellesley Hospital to make this community vaccination center a reality," CEO Tripadvisor CEO Steve Kaufer said in a statement. "We’re glad to do our part to help our local community recover from COVID-19, and encourage others in the private sector to explore how they might use their resources to speed the vaccination process, so we can all move beyond this pandemic."

The Tripadvisor site is one of about 10 patient vaccination sites for Mass General Brigham. The others are largely hospital based. Mass General Brigham has plans to open additional sites in Chelsea, Revere, Jamaica Plain and Somerville in the coming week or so, according to a Newton-Wellesley spokesperson.

This week alone Mass General Brigham plans to administer about 12,000 vaccine doses to patients, which is consistent with the Newton hospital's allocation from the state.
Over the coming weeks, Mass General Brigham expects to be able to deliver whatever allocation of vaccine the state is able to provide. Over the past two months, Mass General Brigham has delivered nearly 100,000 doses of vaccine, 70,000 first doses and 26,000 second doses, to employees and affiliated health care workers.

"In short, our goal is to partner with the state to do whatever is necessary to vaccinate every eligible patient in the fastest, most equitable manner possible," said Heidi Wilson, spokesperson for Newton-Wellesley Hospital, which is a system member of Mass General Brigham, a nonprofit organization that includes academic medical centers Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

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