Coronavirus

Fenway Park to Be Mass Vaccination Site; Mass. Partnering With Pharmacies

The use of Fenway Park as a site where many people can get COVID-19 vaccines was rumored for weeks but Gov. Baker hadn't confirmed it, as a deal was still being worked out

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Fenway Park will be a mass vaccination site, and pharmacies in Massachusetts will begin to vaccinate qualified residents.

Fenway Park will be Massachusetts' second mass vaccination site, joining Gillette Stadium when it opens Feb. 1, Gov. Charlie Baker's office announced Tuesday.

The Baker administration also announced a new partnership with CVS and Walgreens pharmacies that will begin to vaccinate qualified residents.

Also announced Tuesday were the expansion of UMass Amherst's vaccination site and the "Hospital Depot Initiative," to get vaccines to doctors with independent practices.

The use of Fenway Park as a site where many people can get COVID-19 vaccines was rumored for weeks but Baker hadn't confirmed it, as a deal was still being worked out.

The president of the Massachusetts firefighters union said the mass vaccination sites will include Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium and the Big E fairgrounds.

At the start, up to 500 people will be vaccinated per day at Fenway. That number will double as the rollout continues, the administration said. The site will be operated by CIC Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will be its medical director.

Fenway is expected to offer vaccinations through the start of the baseball season this spring, according to the announcement. Boston and Massachusetts' COVID-19 Command Center are working on finding a long-term site in the city.

Gillette Stadium officially opened as Massachusetts' first mass vaccination site this weekend, after a soft launch last week.

The site plans to begin with 300 vaccinations a day and build up to 5,000 vaccinations a day as more people become eligible.

The vaccine partnership with CVS and Walgreens will "activate retail pharmacy vaccination at scale" starting this week, the administration's announcement said, providing 10,000 doses to eligible people through at least 15 pharmacies.

People can sign up for the vaccine here, and at first they'll be offered in Greenfield, Fall River, Salem, South Yarmouth, Pittsfield, Lee, Holden, Gardner, Hyannis, Mashpee, Somerset, Fairhaven, Haverhill, Saugus and Danvers.

But the Baker administration said it expects to ramp up vaccinations through retail pharmacies starting next week, when 40 new sites through Wegmans, Big Y, Price Chopper, Stop & Shop and Hannaford will open up under the program.

Massachusetts will be one of the first states to take part in the first phase of the COVID-19 CDC Pharmacy Partnership.

The people who can currently get the vaccine in Massachusetts are health care workers and staff who deal with coronavirus patients, first responders, congregate are providers and people who live or work at long-term care facilities.

See the the full list of people who can currently get vaccinated in Massachusetts and the Massachusetts coronavirus vaccine rollout plan.

NBC10 Boston, State House News Service and Associated Press
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