Walk-in appointments for a COVID vaccine will be offered at six mass vaccination sites in Massachusetts starting Monday.
Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday that the walk-in slots would be available at the Hynes Convention Center and Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, the DoubleTree Hotel in Danvers, the former Circuit City in Dartmouth, and malls in Natick and Springfield to make it easier for Massachusetts residents to get vaccinated.
The state's Vaxfinder website lists the hours for each location and other details on walk-in appointments. CVS and Walmart already allow walk-ins at their stores.
"That’s a good idea," Boston resident Nolan Staten said. "I’m having a hard time getting an appointment myself so if I walk in and if they have the doses, I mean, that’s perfect for anybody."
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Baker has said that Massachusetts is on track to meet its goal of vaccinating 4.1 million people by early June. Already, 3.9 million people have been vaccinated, with another 180,000 scheduled to get their first dose in the next week.
On Tuesday night, Baker touted the fact that Massachusetts has already surpassed the milestone of having over 70% of the state's residents with at least one shot. President Joe Biden has said his goal is to have all of America reach that goal by the Fourth of July.
Earlier this week, the state announced plans to close four of its seven mass vaccination sites by the end of June in favor of a more targeted approach to reach the roughly 30% of the state’s eligible population that has not yet received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
The state will instead send more doses to 22 smaller regional sites, expand mobile vaccination efforts, and bring vaccine clinics to senior centers, YMCAs, houses of worship and other community sites, Baker said.
While there has been some hesitancy among people who have not yet been vaccinated, more often that not, it’s a matter of convenience, he said, and he wants to make it as easy as possible to get a shot.
Mass vaccination sites at Gillette Stadium, the Doubletree hotel in Danvers, the Natick Mall and the Hynes Convention Center in Boston will close at the end of June.
Baker stressed, however, that there are still plenty of appointments available at all four sites.
