As Massachusetts crosses an important vaccine milestone this weekend, it will soon go one step further to further accelerate the statewide inoculation process.
As of Monday, Natick Mall opens as the state’s most recent mass vaccination site, joining four others that are already in operation for residents eligible to receive their shots.
Natick’s site, served by LabCorp, plans to start administering about 500 doses of the vaccine a day. Finally, officials there expect to administer about 3,000 doses a day.
The site will begin administering 500 doses a day to begin with, with the goal of scaling up to 3,000 a day.
Natick Mall joins Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, Danvers DoubleTree and Eastfield Mall in Springfield, as mass vaccination sites are open so far in the state. The former Dartmouth Circuit City is scheduled to open on February 24th.
People say a fifth mass vaccination site is a step in the right direction, but they say it’s still not enough.
“I think we need more vaccination sites near the Cape Cod area, because down there are a lot of seniors who need vaccinations and the rest of the age group and who drive long distances to get the shot,” Benjamin said. Baker, of Raynham. , dit.
“I think it’s a great idea, especially because there are so many people who haven’t gotten it yet, and with all this virus, it’s better if they have more places,” said Tammi Stevens, also of Raynham.
The federal government blamed the delays on the winter weather and staff shortages. In Framingham, Saturday’s coronavirus clinic was postponed for two weeks, before the state announced that more than 135,000 doses had arrived three days earlier than expected.
Currently, mass vaccination sites account for about half of the available appointments, according to the state’s vaccine search engine website.
The state reached a critical milestone on Saturday, announcing that more than a million people have received the first dose of vaccine and that more than 370,000 have already had their second dose.
In all, nearly 1.4 million doses of the vaccine were administered in the state of the bay.
The good news comes after a frustrating week of setbacks in the state’s vaccination process, including expected delayed shipments of vaccine doses due to inclement weather.
More than a hundred thousand doses ended up arriving on Friday, three days before the dreaded, meaning no appointments had to be canceled, according to Governor Charlie Baker’s administration.
“The Administration appreciates the efforts made to achieve this critical shipment here and does not anticipate additional delays by the federal government for vaccine shipments at this time,” Command Center spokeswoman Kate Reilly said Friday.
State and local leaders held a roundtable on Saturday to discuss racial disparities with vaccine distribution in Massachusetts. Lawmakers say underserved communities need all the resources they can get.
Earlier in the week, Baker had suggested sending the National Guard south to recover delayed shipment of vaccines.
The state’s vaccination registration website also crashed Thursday shortly after opening to people 65 and older. The time slots for this age group fill up quickly.