Worcester is getting its first mass vaccination site, and Massachusetts' sixth, later this month, officials announced Thursday.
The site will open Feb. 16 at Worcester State University, able to administer vaccines to several hundred people per day, though that number could rise to 2,000 per day later on, according to the city's announcement.
Saint Vincent Hospital will lead clinical operations, and the site will be open Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., officials said. Appointments will be available through the Massachusetts website.
The location is important for people in Worcester, who thus far have had to drive to Springfield, Foxboro or Boston if they wanted to go to a mass vaccination site.
The Worcester city manager touched on how important the site will be and how, as elsewhere, city officials are working hard to ensure vaccines are available for communities of color.
"We are trying to build this plane and fly it at the same time. It is not something that is lost on any of us, that is something we need to do," City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said.
