Baker Plans to Fully Open Vaccine Eligibility April 19

Article Source: State House News Service

Author: Colin A. Young and Michael P. Norton

 

[Coverage Developing] All Massachusetts residents ages 16 or older will become eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by April 19, the Baker administration announced Wednesday morning. Residents 60 or older and certain workers become eligible March 22. Residents 55 or older and those with one qualifying health condition will become eligible April 5 and the general public will become eligible April 19. “The Administration has received assurances from the federal government that an increased vaccine supply will be available to states soon,” Baker’s office wrote in a press release. “Depending on supply, it could take weeks for people to be notified that an appointment is available at a mass vaccination site.” Baker is due to tour a vaccination site at The Shaw’s Center in Brockton at 10:30 a.m. and planned to discuss the timeline for getting the remaining adult population of Massachusetts vaccinated during a press conference to follow the tour. President Joe Biden said last week that he was directing all states to make all adults eligible to be vaccinated no later than May 1. Baker’s administration had planned to make the general public eligible for vaccine doses sometime in its final rollout phase, which has long been scheduled to begin in April. Baker’s office also announced a new $24.7 million investment in its Vaccine Equity Initiative meant to “increase trust, vaccine acceptance and administration rates … and to meet the needs of priority populations.”