Gov. Charlie Baker announced that Phase Two Covid-19 vaccinations would begin next week. Starting Wednesday, Jan. 27, those 75 years old and older could book vaccination appointments online at maimmunizations.org. The first appointments will be for Monday, Feb 1.
As of press time, the nearest vaccination sites are the Orleans Stop & Shop, the Orleans DPW facility, and the Harwich Stop & Shop, but other sites are likely to come online soon, according to county officials.
The health depts. of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham have been working with the county to identify more vaccination sites for the Outer Cape, but communication from the state has been limited. The governor’s announcement, which included an agreement with Stop & Shop and CVS pharmacies to open vaccination sites in various parts of the state, was a surprise to local leaders.
Provincetown Health Director Morgan Clark said work towards more sites here continues. Any new sites that come online will also appear on maimmunizations.org. Questions about vaccinations can also be directed to the county’s hotline, 774-330-3001.
Later in February, Phase Two will expand to include people 65 and older, as well as people with two or more co-morbidities that have been shown to be risk factors for death from Covid-19. Those co-morbidities are drawn from a list published by the CDC.
There are 12 relevant conditions: cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, Down Syndrome, serious heart conditions, immunocompromised state from organ transplant, obesity and severe obesity, sickle cell disease, smoking, type 2 diabetes, and pregnancy.
Other co-morbidities are listed by the CDC as possibly indicating increased risk of severe illness from Covid-19. Those include asthma, HIV, and high blood pressure, but are not included by the state of Massachusetts when determining vaccine access in this second phase.
