Massachusetts is set to start offering COVID-19 vaccines to individuals in congregated care settings next week, the last group to become eligible while employees work on the state’s first phase of deployment.
However, with the growing pandemic, some question why the process is not happening faster.
According The Washington PostThe vaccine delivery tracker, Massachusetts, is 26th in the country in terms of the number of people per capita who received their first dose, lagging behind New York and other New England states. And while the federal government issued a new guideline this week urging states to expand the group of individuals who can receive the vaccine, Governor Charlie Baker is defending his government’s regimented approach.
“I know this is not popular, but I really hope that from the beginning, with the vaccine available, we can reach populations where life is most at risk and on which the health system depends and depends to provide care,” Baker said. reporters during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite the announcement made on Tuesday by President Donald Trump’s government instructing states to make vaccines available to all individuals over 65, as well as younger individuals with comorbidities, Baker said his government had not received such guidance.
In the first phase of the current implementation of the three-phase vaccine in Massachusetts, authorities are prioritizing (in that order) frontline health professionals; nursing homes and other long-term care facilities; first to respond; congregate service places, such as shelters for homeless people and prisons; and other health professionals who are not treating patients with COVID-19.
Massachusetts recently adjusted its vaccine priority order to add individuals over 75 or with multiple comorbidities to the start of the second phase of the launch, which is expected to start next month, if federal government vaccine shipments continue as expected, from according to Baker.
The administration also announced on Wednesday that individuals in low-income housing for the elderly will be added to the first group in the second phase, which also includes essential workers such as teachers and grocery workers. The rest of the general public is unlikely to be eligible for a vaccine until April.
However, some states have already expanded the deployment to a larger group of people.
West Virginia, which is leading the country in vaccinations per capita, is already offering the vaccine to all residents over 80, as well as teachers over 50. Florida placed residents over 65 at the top of the list of priorities last month. California moved to do the same this week. Other places even offered leftover doses for literally anyone, regardless of age.
According to Bloomberg, Massachusetts used 33.1 percent of its distributed doses, which is tied at 35th highest among the 50 states. Five states, including Connecticut and Rhode Island, administered more than 50% of their doses.
Some health professionals in Massachusetts asked Baker for more flexibility in using doses of the vaccine. But the governor emphasized on Wednesday that efforts should focus strictly on those most vulnerable or exposed to COVID-19.
“I know that [in] in many states, people the same age as my children were vaccinated before people who are home health care workers or health professionals or long-term workers or long-term residents or some of these other populations or people who have multiple comorbidities and more 70 years old, ”he said on Wednesday. “Honestly, I don’t think that’s how we should be doing this. I think the focus from the start should be on those who have the most to lose, or who are fundamental to our ability to care for those who have the most to lose. “
Although the governor said that the initial stages of the launch met his “rugged” expectations, Baker said that if the federal distribution of vaccines is according to projections, Massachusetts may be in a position in “60 to 90 days days” To offer the vaccine to the general population.
Earlier this week, the state announced its first mass vaccination site at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, which will first serve only the first respondents. But the authorities hope to make it available to the general public as soon as they are eligible. Other potential mass vaccination sites, such as Fenway Park, are also being discussed.
Secretary of State Bill Galvin on Thursday suggested that the state try to set up vaccination centers adjacent to polling places in the next local elections this spring to serve eligible populations.
The boost comes as Massachusetts continues to record high rates of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. The state currently has the highest number of new daily cases per capita in the country, according to Brown University’s coronavirus risk panel. And although this can be partly explained by the state’s high COVID-19 testing rate (which is the third in the country), Williams College economics professor Pamela Jakiela tweeted this week that the situation, combined with the delay in implementing vaccination, raises the question:
“With so much medical human capital and relevant public health, how are we fucking doing it so badly?” Jakiela wrote.
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