COVID Vaccine Schedule For Massachusetts Released, General Public Starts April 19
BOSTON (CBS) - Every resident age 16 and older in Massachusetts will be eligible for a COVID vaccine starting April 19, the state announced Wednesday.
Governor Charlie Baker's office released this schedule for all remaining groups:
March 22: residents 60+ and certain workers
April 5th: residents 55+ and residents with one certain medical condition
April 19th (Patriots Day): general public ages 16 years of age and older
The full timeline is available at mass.gov/COVIDVaccinePhases.
"The Administration has received assurances from the federal government that an increased vaccine supply will be available to states soon," the governor's office said in a statement announcing the updated timeline.
"Depending on supply, it could take weeks for people to be notified that an appointment is available at a mass vaccination site."
President Biden has challenged states to make all adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1.
In a news conference in Brockton Wednesday, Baker said Massachusetts expects "hundreds of thousands" of vaccine doses from the federal government in late March and early April after an encouraging call with the Biden Administration Tuesday.
Massachusetts launched its new COVID vaccine preregistration system last Friday. After signing up, people are notified by text, email or phone call about when they're eligible for openings at the state's seven mass vaccination sites. Everyone has 24 hours to respond.
"I'm ready to open back up the world. Let's get it going," said Daniel Napier, who works at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Shaw's Center in Brockton. "I can't wait. I mean the sooner that we can have more people come down, the sooner we can get back to a normal lifestyle because that's what everybody wants…I can't wait to get this mask off and enjoy being around my family and just loving life again."
Visit Mass.Gov/CovidVaccine to find out when you're eligible and to book an appointment or call the hotline at 211.
