'Very Disappointed': State Cuts Off Wilmington From Vaccines

WILMINGTON, MA — Wilmington Health Director Shelly Newhouse said she is "very disappointed and frustrated with the whole vaccine clinic rollout" Wednesday after state officials announced local health boards would no longer receive doses of the vaccine beginning in March.

The announcement came after the town was told two weeks in a row that it would not be getting any doses, contrary to prior expectations that it would get 100 doses per week. The town has only held one public vaccine clinic so far, on Feb. 4.

Wednesday's announcement codified the recent rend: Local boards of health, which had been organizing smaller clinics for town residents throughout the state over the past two months, were told 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.

"Local Boards of Health have been preparing for events like this through our Emergency Preparedness duties for the past 15 years," Newhouse said. "Developing plans, attending trainings, participating in mock drills, all so we can initiate pandemic clinics like COVID.

The Board of Health had developed a plan for regular clinics at the Shriners Auditorium, including collecting a long list of volunteer medical professionals who were willing to help administer vaccines.

"We are ready, we are here," Newhouse said.

Jonathan Eaton, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, wrote to the town's congressional delegation Tuesday about the lack of vaccines being distributed to the town. He called on Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Rep. Seth Moulton to do what they can to "enable our local board of health to continue their heroic efforts to protect our community."

The new state plan focuses on clinics that can use hundreds of doses of the vaccine per day, alongside retail pharmacies that get their supplies through the federal government. Nearby clinics can be found using vaxfinder.mass.gov or by calling 211 for assistance.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.