Baker-Polito Administration Announces $4.7 Million for Vaccine Equity in Hardest-Hit Communities Including Framingham; Regional Vaccination Collaboratives

The following is a press release from the Governor’s office submitted to SOURCE media.

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BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration today, february 24, announced a new $4.7 million initiative to promote COVID-19 vaccine equity in the 20 communities most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

The Administration also announced 11 high-efficiency regional vaccination collaboratives involving local health officials and other regional partners.

Vaccination Appointments: 

Tomorrow, around 50,000 new appointments will be added at mass vaccination locations across the Commonwealth. This includes the mass vaccination locations at Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, Springfield, Danvers, Dartmouth and Natick.

Retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens will also administer over 20,000 doses next week as well.

Residents can go to www.mass.gov/COVIDvaccine tomorrow morning to find and schedule their appointments. Appointment availability is very limited due to the constrained supply of vaccine doses that the Commonwealth is receiving from the federal government.

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$4.7 Million for Vaccine Equity:

 The Administration today announced a $4.7 million effort to support its vaccine equity initiative announced last week, which focuses on reducing barriers to vaccination in the 20 hardest-hit communities in the Commonwealth. The Administration will work with Archipelago Strategies Group (ASG) and Health Care for All (HCFA) to best leverage these funds.

The initiative will support and coordinate with local leaders and community- and faith-based organizations to strengthen existing efforts in these cities and towns. These efforts will specifically focus on communities of color, homebound seniors, disabled individuals and other hard-to-reach populations. ASG and HCFA will provide hyperlocal, population-specific communication resources as well as hiring local residents and working with local organizations with cultural and linguistic competencies to reach disparately impacted populations in each priority municipality. ASG specializes in grassroots mobilization, partnering with local leaders, community organizations, and media partners to develop community-based solutions. As a subcontractor, HCFA will provide high-touch support for priority communities, including direct service support, community organizing, education, and outreach.

This work will complement the Commonwealth’s $2.5 million public awareness campaign, “Trust the Facts, Get the Vax,” adapting the campaign’s messaging for specific communities. The initiative will focus on the 20 municipalities with the greatest COVID-19 case burden, taking into account social determinants of health and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color. 

These communities are Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Randolph, Revere, Springfield and Worcester. This work will be coordinated with targeted opportunities for increased vaccine access through existing and new locations, including pop up sites and mobile clinics.

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Regional Collaboratives: 

In addition, the Administration today also designated 11 new regional collaboratives that will support efforts to streamline vaccination efforts. These collaboratives will leverage local health officials, regional hospitals and others to deliver high-throughput, efficient vaccination sites for all eligible residents across the Commonwealth beginning March 1.

Collaboratives must meet several criteria:

• Have capacity to vaccinate a minimum of 750 individuals per day, 5 days per week (subject to vaccine availability);

• Meet an administration rate threshold of 85% and report doses within 24 hours;

• Be open to all residents of the Commonwealth (collaborations may focus outreach efforts towards those who live or work in the area, but must be open to all Massachusetts residents)

• Provide public links for vaccine appointments on www.mass.gov/COVIDVaccine.

New and existing collaboratives announced today:

• Barnstable County

• Berkshire County Boards of Health Association

• Franklin County Regional Collaborative

• Harrington Hospital, in Collaboration with LBOH

• Heywood Hospital, in Collaboration with LBOH

• Lawrence General Hospital, in Collaboration with LBOH

• Marshfield-Plymouth

• Northampton & Amherst

• Randolph – Collaboration between Avon, Holbrook, and Randolph

• Rutland

• Worcester, Worcester State University, Commonwealth Medicine and St. Vincent Hospital

Information about booking appointments through these collaboratives will be available on www.mass.gov/COVIDvaccine in the coming days.

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