Mass delegation members. Pressure Charlie Baker for pre-registration of vaccine

Almost all members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation are calling on Governor Charlie Baker to establish a system that allows residents to pre-register and receive notification for COVID-19 vaccine appointments.

Two months after the start of the state’s irregular and irregular vaccination, 10 of the 11 members of the state’s fully democratic delegation signed a letter to the Republican governor arguing that a centralized pre-registration system would help authorities reach populations where there is unmet demand vaccine and streamline the process of scheduling appointments for patients and providers.

“A disjointed and complicated enrollment process left the elderly confused and unable to access the desperately needed vaccine appointments, and the disproportionate reliance on mass vaccination sites left the appointments unfulfilled and large portions of our most vulnerable populations did not. answered, ”said the letter, which was dated Friday and led by Rep. Katherine Clark.

The pre-registration system – where residents can provide relevant information online, over the phone or in person in advance and later be notified when they are qualified to make an appointment – “would help to alleviate these challenges,” lawmakers wrote.

MP Richard Neal was the only member of the delegation who did not sign the letter.

Baker acknowledged the frustrations with the pace of the launch, which he attributed to limited supply, the state’s decision to prioritize highly vulnerable groups and the above-expected reluctance to obtain the vaccine among those groups.

However, in their letter to Baker, lawmakers expressed concern that the lack of a pre-registration system also contributed to the “slow and unfair distribution of vaccines in Massachusetts, a trend that will only be exacerbated by increased demand, as appointments open up for future groups eligibility. ”

Similar systems have been established in states like Florida, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia. West Virginia – which, unlike Massachusetts, is a national leader in the rapid administration of its quota of vaccine doses – was the first state in the country to establish a pre-registration system through the mass communication company Everbridge, with Burlington.

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers recently filed a bill to launch a pre-registration system in Massachusetts, where residents would provide personal information such as age, occupation and any underlying medical conditions that may give them priority in the launch of the three-phase vaccine. of State. The proposed system would allow users to provide a classified number of preferred vaccination sites and then obtain notification, once they are eligible, when consultations are opened at that location.

In the letter to Baker, lawmakers say that a pre-registration system would eliminate some of the current friction in the multi-stage registration process and allow the state to match vaccine supply with demand in advance. Amid accessibility concerns about the state’s current emphasis on mass vaccination sites, the system would also advance equity efforts, lawmakers wrote, identifying communities or eligibility groups where additional reach is needed.

“We recognize that this type of emergency communication system requires funding and we will continue to fight for federal resources to increase vaccine production and help the Community to ensure that vaccines are distributed equitably and efficiently,” wrote the group.