Vaccine Coming to Massachusetts

MASSACHUSETTS - The long awaited and hoped for Coronavirus vaccine is closer to being distributed than expected by many at the start of the pandemic. On December 9, Governor Charlie Baker announced that the state will start to allocate and distribute the vaccine to the public in three phases beginning in December. The phases coincide with the level of priority that people need them.

The first shipment of Pfizer’s vaccine which consists of around 60,000 doses will be delivered to hospitals across the state by December 15. The doses will then be reallocated to more hospitals across all of the counties. This launches phase one of the Baker administration’s rollout plan that estimates that nearly 300,000 doses will be delivered by the end of the month.

These early doses will be given to the most at risk members of the public, such as health care workers, police, fire and emergency medical services and long term care facilities’ workers and residents. Baker’s Vaccine Advisory Group designated these groups to receive the vaccine before others because doing so will maximize life preservation and support the health care system. Their timeline estimates that phase one will likely conclude in February.

Phase two aims to distribute close to 1.9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, beginning in March. These vaccines will go to residents that are second on the state’s priority list, such as individuals with one or more comorbidities, people 65 years or older, and K-12 workers. The state estimates that this major phase will end by the end of April.

The final phase of Baker’s plan will start in mid April and the vaccine will then be distributed to the rest of the residents in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts resident and GHS senior, Ruari Maloney, commented on the state’s proposed timeline for the vaccine distribution, stating, “ I’m surprised that a vaccine is already being given and it seems to me that the state has a good plan and timeline layed out”.

When asked about the priority of who gets the vaccine, Maloney stated, “It is smart to give healthcare workers the vaccine first and people like that because they are the backbone of our healthcare system”.

Ruari Maloney, just like almost every other highschool student, fits into phase three of Baker’s plan and will likely receive the vaccine in April and May. Teachers are estimated to receive the vaccine in February and March. There still seems to be hope for students, for an in-person return to school, especially for seniors who wish for a “normal” end to their high school careers.