Light at the end of the tunnel!
Update: The FDA approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Friday and has been shipped to all 50 states to over 140 administration sites with more coming on Tuesday.
You can see the schedule of the three-phase distribution plan for Massachusetts below.
Original Post
Gov. Baker announced on Wednesday, that the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine are expected to be delivered to hospitals next week and a three-phase distribution plan to the general public will start as early as April. Phew!
Phase one of the plan should start December 15th, with the arrival of 59,475 doses of the Pfizer vaccine – pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The first doses will go to 21 hospitals across eight counties and the Department of Public Health immunization lab, then redistributed to 74 hospitals across the entire state for front-line medical workers.
The following 40,000 Pfizer doses will go to the Federal Pharmacy Program and are set aside for long-term care facility staff and residents.
300,000 vaccine Pfizer and Moderna doses are expected to be distributed by the end of the year and over 2 million doses by the end of March.
The vaccines will be distributed for free with no co-payments. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be administered twice about three to four weeks apart.
Here’s the breakdown:
Phase One (December – February)
- Clinical and non-clinical healthcare workers doing direct and COVID-facing care
- Long term care facilities, rest homes and assisted living facilities
- Police, fire and emergency medical services
- Congregate care settings (including corrections and shelters)
- Home-based healthcare workers
- Healthcare workers doing non-COVID-facing care
Phase Two (February – April)
- Individuals with 2+ high-risk for COVID-19 complications
- Early education, K-12, transit, grocery, utility, food and agriculture, sanitation, public works and public health workers
- Adults 65+
- Individuals with a high risk
Phase three (April – June)
General public
You can learn more about this here!
So in the meantime, please follow the guidelines, wear a mask, practice social distancing.
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
