Vaccine Shortage
Natick and other communities’ vaccination efforts are limited by available supply
The Massachusetts Health Dept has clarified that 98% of vaccines given to the state have been distributed
Currently there is a cap on the number of vaccine doses a community is allowed each week
Natick is currently allowed 100 doses per week; surrounding communities appear to have similar limits
Natick’s Health Director confirmed the Town could vaccinate significantly more people if supply were to increase
Clinics to-date have been administered primarily by volunteers
The Town has received grant funding to support paid staff to provide vaccines if supply increases
Vaccine Clinics
Natick has been hosting a weekly public vaccination clinic
By the end of tomorrow (January 37), the Natick Health Dept will have vaccinated 300 people who live or work in Natick
Next week Natick’s vaccination clinic will include individuals that qualify for vaccines under Phase II - however, they have not vaccinated everyone in Phase I
The Natick Health Department does not have data on how many Natick residents qualify for Phase I or Phase II (it has census data on ages, but not on occupation and other key determinants)
Public, state-led vaccination sites will be opening in February, including one at Gillette Stadium
Health Dept will continue to offer clinics as long as they have access to the vaccine
CVS in Natick has not received vaccines yet
How to Sign Up for the Vaccine, if You are Eligible
Calling Natick Health Dept is not helpful
Staff are receiving 200+ calls a day
Residents can use the state’s system to confirm their eligibility, see what and where appointments are available and sign up at public clinics
The link is available on the Health Dept’s website at: https://www.maimmunizations.org/
Vaccinating Seniors
The Natick Health Dept realizes some seniors don’t have access to computer
They are working to set up a phone bank at the CSC to take calls and help walk them through it or help register them for whatever slots are open
They are not taking a list because they don’t know if and when the vaccines are coming
Vaccinating Teachers
Despite pressuring schools to fully reopen, they moved individuals over age 65 ahead of teachers
The Health Dept won’t be able to vaccinate teachers during Feb vacation as the Mass Health Dept informed them they just don’t have enough vaccine to go around
More on Infections Among Children Ages 0-19
Children ages 0-19 are currently the age bracket that is experiencing the most infections
This is not just in Natick, but across the entire state
This trend began December, when the age of the positive cases started dropping
The age group of 20-29 was previously the highest
Some is being spread because of group and team activities
There is also a high amount of spread within families at this time
They have not seen any transmission within the schools
Within the age bracket, it is more school-aged children (not infants)
How to Protect Against Covid Variants/Mutations
Natick Health Director and a Board member suggested wearing two masks
A surgical mask with cloth mask over it
Make sure you are using a quality mask at a minimum - bandanas are not effective
If you watched Biden’s inauguration, there were a lot of double masks
Airflow is also important
Keep a window open helps with aerosols
Transfer of incoming air and outgoing air really helps; have venting or hepa filters in your home/space can make a big difference
If the variants cause Massachusetts’s cases to take off again, they may have to slow down the openings a bit
The good news is the vaccines appear to do a very good job combating variants from Europe
The Brazil and S. Africa ones are more concerning
It is very difficult to have a clear answer about the pervasiveness of variants in Massachusetts as the USA is not doing a good job tracking the genome
thank you so much for some clarity on the subject. I was wondering if the 100 dose limit per week per community includes what private entities receive(such as CVS or does that refer to what the town of Natick's clinic receives??