coronavirus

Baker to Attend Mass. Vaccine Rollout Oversight Hearing, Lawmaker Says

The new COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management Committee will examine the Baker administration's efforts to roll out the vaccine

NBC Universal, Inc.

Gov. Charlie Baker will attend an upcoming oversight hearing on Massachusetts' coronavirus rollout, one of the lawmakers who is chairing the panel holding the hearing said Friday night.

Rep. Bill Driscoll, D-Milton, said that Baker's office confirmed he would attend the hearing on Thursday.

NBC10 Boston is reaching out to Baker's office.

Driscoll and Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, are chairing the new COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management Committee, which will examine the Baker administration's efforts to roll out the vaccine, a process that hasn't been smooth.

The latest major bump in the rollout process came Thursday, when Massachusetts' Vaxfinder signup website crashed amid high demand as 1 million more people became eligible to be vaccinated.

"The list of questions for the vaccine rollout oversight the hearing we scheduled for next Thursday 2/25 gets longer by the day," Driscoll tweeted Thursday, referring to the website's problems. "There is a deep need for improved planning. The public demands it & deserves it."

Testimony on Thursday will be by invitation-only for members of the Baker administration as well as chairs of the Legislature's Racial Equity, Civil Rights and Inclusion, Health Care Financing, and Public Health committees. At least one future hearing will be open to public testimony, lawmakers have said.

NBC/State House News Service
Contact Us