Circle the date on your calendars: Everyone in Massachusetts over the age of 16 can book an appointment to get the COVID vaccine on April 19, Patriot's Day.
Gov. Charlie Baker announced a timeline Wednesday for when Massachusetts residents who have not received a COVID-19 vaccination shot will be able to sign up, starting with residents 60 years and older as well as many front-line workers.
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“We are getting through this," Baker said. "We can only move as fast as the manufacturers produce vaccines and thankfully production is picking up.”
The state is slated to receive 316,000 vaccine doses from the federal government. Some 170,000 of those will be first dose vaccines; and 8,000 are single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
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Who is eligible on March 22?
On Monday, residents 60 years and older as well as many front-line workers will become eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine in Massachusetts.
The workers who become eligible include restaurant or cafe workers; food, meatpacking, beverage, agriculture, consumer goods, retail or food service workers; grocery and convenience store workers; food pantry workers or volunteers; medical supply chain volunteers; vaccine development workers; transit/transportation workers; public works, water, wastewater, or utility workers; sanitation workers; public health workers; court system workers; and funeral directors and funeral workers.
Who is eligible on April 5?
On April 5, eligibility will be expanded to those 55 years and older and those with one co-morbidity, Baker said in a press conference.
The medical conditions include asthma, cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, Down Syndrome, heart conditions such as heart failure or coronary artery disease, immunocompromised state, obesity and severe obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, smoking and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Who is eligible on April 19?
On April 19, Patriot's Day, vaccination appointments will be opened to any resident 16 years or older.
How do I sign up?
All Massachusetts residents can now preregister for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at one of the state's seven mass vaccination sites.
The new online tool went live earlier this month, changing the sign-up process for appointments at the large-scale sites. Preregistered residents will be added to a waiting list where they'll receive weekly status updates and be notified when an appointment becomes available.
Initially, this program is only for the state’s seven mass vaccination sites, but more sites will be added to the preregistration system in April.
Preregistration only takes a couple of minutes at vaccinesignup.mass.gov to get on a waiting list for an appointment at one of the large-scale sites.
Once an appointment opens up, residents will be notified via email, phone or text, based on their preference. The notification will include a link with a special code needed to schedule the appointment, which expires after one day.
The appointment must be accepted within 24 hours, otherwise the resident will be sent back into the queue and must wait for another appointment.
Residents can opt out of their preregistration at any time if they get an appointment elsewhere.
The preregistration system allows family members and caregivers to fill out the form on behalf of someone else in order to accomodate elderly residents. Residents who do not have internet access or have trouble with the process can call 211 to preregister.
