State 'Stiffed' Somerville On Vaccine Doses, Mayor Says

SOMERVILLE, MA — Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone slammed the state's decision to divert vaccines from local municipalities in favor of mass vaccination sites and pharmacies.

Most local boards of health, which had been organizing smaller clinics for town residents throughout the state over the past two months, were told Wednesday they will no longer be receiving significant vaccine supply and should focus their efforts on outreach to residents who cannot travel to the bigger regional sites or are vaccine-hesitant.

"This has been maddening. We stood up an entire clinic infrastructure and local outreach network, and then the state stiffed us," Curtatone tweeted Thursday. "It's happened all over MA."

Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday the quickest way to vaccinate people was through high-volume sites. Even before the announcement, communities struggled to plan local clinics for residents amid limited supplies of 100 doses per week.

The state exempted 20 cities and towns identified as having the greatest COVID-19 burden and highest percentage of non-white residents. These communities will continue to give out vaccines at the local level, are prioritized for the retail pharmacy program and are served by community health centers and other health care providers, state officials said.