3 Mass Vaccination Sites Coming To Metro North Area

The Metro North COVID-19 Vaccination Partnership, a consortium of nine communities, the Cambridge Health Alliance and Tufts University, announced Tuesday that it is opening three joint vaccine clinics and planning mobile and pop-up vaccination efforts to reach underserved populations.

The regional partnership, which includes Arlington, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Revere, Somerville and Winthrop, was approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as a part of its statewide network of vaccination locations.

The partnership's sites at Tufts University's Gantcher Center in Medford and Encore Boston Harbor in Everett recently opened, and the third clinic at 176 Somerville Ave. in Somerville is expected to open the second week of May. All sites will be operated and staffed by the Cambridge Health Alliance, respective local Boards of Health and Tufts University, with CHA serving as the health provider.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council is also helping coordinate participating municipalities.

"These communities have been on the front lines of the pandemic since it first hit our region in early 2020, and are in dire need of a regional solution to increasing the rates of vaccination and building vaccine confidence," Mark Fine, director of Municipal Collaboration at the MAPC, said in a statement. "By banding together to get doses closer to where residents live and work, we can increase the pace of vaccinations and ensure folks have access to this critical public health resource regardless of immigration status, car ownership, English fluency, work hours, or access to health insurance."

The three sites combined must deliver a minimum of 750 doses per day, the threshold for approval as a mass vaccination site, with the capacity to deliver as many as 5,000 daily. By uniting to create a cluster of sites, the communities were able to qualify for approval. The sites will also have the ability to adjust their staffing in response to changes in vaccine supply.

All Massachusetts residents will be eligible for the clinics. Appointments can be made by visiting https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/metronorth. Residents can also visit VaxFinder.mass.gov or call 211 to register for an appointment at any state site.

The consortium also successfully requested permission to reserve 25 percent of vaccine doses for targeted vaccine clinics for residents of each community. The plan is to delegate that supply toward mobile and pop-up sites for underserved people and areas.

"As a community health system that serves several of the communities that were among the hardest hit during the pandemic, we are committed to doing everything we can to help local residents get and stay healthy," Cambridge Health Alliance CEO Assaad Sayah said in a statement. "The Partnership will provide consistent and convenient access to COVID-19 vaccinations and accelerate efforts to get us past this crisis."