Gov. Charlie Baker announced that starting Thursday, Massachusetts residents age 65 and over and those with two or more medical conditions can begin scheduling their COVID-19 vaccination appointments.
Appointments can be scheduled starting at 8 a.m. Thursday at www.mass.gov/covidvaccine. Around 70,000 new appointments are expected to be posted at that time at mass vaccination sites in Springfield, Danvers, and at Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium.
Almost 1 million people are newly eligible for the vaccine based on this announcement.
Due to extremely high demand for appointments and limited vaccine supply, state officials said it could take more than a month for all eligible individuals to secure an available appointment, unless federal supply significantly increases. Residents are encouraged to keep checking the website, as appointments are added on a rolling basis.
Here's everything you need to know:
Individuals 65 and over
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Individuals 65 and over, including residents and staff of low income and affordable public and private senior housing are eligible to receive vaccine effective Thursday, Feb. 18.
Residents and staff of low income and affordable public and private senior housing can learn more about vaccination options here.
Individuals with 2 or more certain medical conditions
Individuals 16 and older with two or more of certain medical conditions (defined below) are also eligible for vaccine, effective Thursday.
In concert with CDC guidelines, the state has adopted the list of conditions that cause individuals to be at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Massachusetts has also identified moderate to severe asthma as an eligible medical condition.
Phase 2 eligible conditions
- Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Down Syndrome
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
- Obesity and severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Smoking
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Learn more at CDC: COVID-19: People with Certain Medical Conditions
Mass vaccination appointments
Thursday morning, over 70,000 appointments are scheduled to be posted at mass vaccination sites (Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Double Tree Hotel in Danvers, Fenway Park in Boston and Gillette Stadium in Foxboro).
Details for booking can be found via the COVID-19 Vaccine Finder, which enables residents to search for a vaccination location and view appointment availability before scheduling. The tool can be accessed via the state’s vaccination website at www.mass.gov/COVIDvaccine or directly at https://vaxfinder.mass.gov.
Individuals who are unable to access appointments via the internet can call 211 and follow the prompts for vaccine appointments.
There are currently over 170 vaccination locations across the Commonwealth. Currently, almost 95% of the state's population lives within a 45-minute drive of a mass vaccination site or within 30 minutes of a regional, high volume site -- not counting the pharmacies, provider and community health center vaccination sites.
