vaccines

Mass. Announces Opening Dates for 4 New Vaccination Sites, Including Fenway

It had already been announced that Fenway Park would serve as a mass vaccination site again, after taking part in the initial vaccination effort earlier this year

NBC10 Boston

Fenway Park is one of several Massachusetts locations that are opening as vaccination sites next week, the Baker Administration announced Tuesday.

Four new state-sponsored sites will be offering vaccine shots, including boosters, officials said: Fenway Park, the Melnea Cass Recreation Complex, North Shore Community College, the Taunton COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic.

It had already been announced that Fenway Park would serve as a mass vaccination site again, after taking part in the initial vaccination effort earlier this year.

Officials expect a mass booster shot site at Fenway to be up and running in a couple of weeks as the city seeks to counter the spread of the omicron variant.

Details on the new sites below -- appointments are available on vaxfinder.mass.gov for children as young as 5:

  • Fenway Park (Boston): Opening Jan. 6, able to administer up to 1,300 doses per day, including walk-ins. Cataldo Ambulance will provide the vaccine.
  • Melnea Cass Recreation Complex (Roxbury): Opening Jan. 5, able to administer up to 400 doses per day, including walk-ins. Fallon Ambulance will provide the vaccine.
  • North Shore Community College (Lynn): Opening Jan. 5, able to administer up to 400 doses per day, including walk-ins. Cataldo Ambulance will provide the vaccine.
  • Taunton COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic (Taunton): Opening Jan. 6, able to administer up to 400 doses per day. Brewster Ambulance will provide the vaccine.

Tuesday's announcement also noted that the Whittier Street Health Center has a COVID vaccination clinic open already that is able to administer up to 500 doses per day.

On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker was among a bipartisan group of governors on a call with President Joe Biden and administration officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci and U.S. Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, his office confirmed. The White House said the group discussed "the latest science on the Omicron variant, the use and distribution of COVID-19 treatments, expanding Federal partnerships and resources on testing, and keeping the Nation's schools open."

When the reopening of the Fenway vaccination site was announced this month, Baker administration officials said they saw it as an opportunity to increase capacity and allow more people to get boosted quicker in the middle of the winter season when the risk of spread from indoor activities increases.

A spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said at the time that the administration envisioned Fenway operating as a "high-throughput site," similar to other state-sponsored booster clinics in Springfield, Lowell, Danvers and Brockton.

COVID numbers in Massachusetts, and nationwide, have continued to rise since then, with some metrics reaching new highs, even though the Bay State is among the most vaccinated in the country.

The State House News Service contributed to this report.

NBC/State House News Service
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