Notes on the Vaccination Clinic at Devens
Devens, MA - To provide insight into how the vaccine rollout is reaching our communities, while being up front and realistic on its slow pace (for a variety of reasons), here is my update on the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health vaccine clinic that began Wednesday, February 3rd at Devens – for just 200 area residents 75-years-old and older. Before you read anything further, there were already 160 people signed up yesterday, and it’s probably full as I post this today.
The Nashoba Associated Boards of Health (NABH) service area is Ashburnham, Ashby, Ayer, Berlin, Bolton, Boxborough, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley, Stow and Townsend. In mid-December as a result of the frequent communication with the Department of Public Health and local Boards of Health across Massachusetts, NABH was tasked with administering the vaccine to First Responders in its service area. Due to the generosity of the manager, the NABH staged their clinic at Boxborough Regency hotel, and it went very well. I am grateful that the NABH has been able to step into this role, but frustrated that the state is unable to marshal resources, medical professionals, and volunteers to run vaccine clinics statewide.
Building on the success of these regional vaccine clinics, NABH agreed to stage the regional clinic for this next phase, with seniors being notified by Councils of Aging in each community. This is an example of what COA outreach looks like, from Littleton’s website: https://www.littletonma.org/home/news/littleton-announces-waitlist-littleton-residents-covid-19-vaccination-clinic (NOTE: Waitlist already).
Seniors who got an appointment for this vaccination clinic at Devens got their first shot earlier this week, and their second shot in the weeks after. It is my sincere hope that as more vaccines arrive in Massachusetts, this clinic will continue to expand. I am reaching out today to all the COAs and Boards of Health in the district, about how things are going.
I welcome your feedback on this.
