Governor Charlie Baker
HYANNIS – The Cape Cod COVID Response Task Force continued to express frustration with the state’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine as the next tier of Phase 2 of the distribution plan begins.
Though new daily case numbers have decreased after a post-holiday surge, the task force asked the state to have urgency and efficiency in shipping doses as well as rethink its current distribution strategy.
Task force members criticized such issues as the state’s online appointment tool, which temporarily crashed as more than a million residents became eligible to make appointments to receive their first dose, as well as the continued scarcity of vaccines in the Cape Cod and Islands region.
In a letter recently sent to Governor Charlie Baker, Cape & Islands State Senator Julian Cyr as well as 100 other bipartisan, elected and appointed signees urged the governor to modify the rollout.
In the letter, they asked for reconsideration of a mass vaccination site at Cape Cod Community College.
A site at the location was discussed by the state, but it was never implemented.
The letter also asked for more allocation of the vaccine for Barnstable County.
“The county is the only provider of large-scale vaccination in the region, and it’s only receiving 975 doses a week. If you do the math, it’s simply not enough,” said Cyr.
Currently in Phase 2, those over the age of 65 and individuals with 2 or more certain medical conditions are eligible for the vaccine.
Cyr said that Barnstable County, one of the oldest demographic-wise in the state, requires more doses of the vaccine for Phase 2 than it has been receiving, but will require comparatively less later when younger residents become eligible.
The letter also urges the delivery of vaccines to a consortium of local boards of health in the county, who are coordinating with councils on aging, police and fire departments, and other organizations in order to identify homebound and vulnerable adults who cannot travel to mass vaccination sites off-Cape.
Cyr said that from his hometown of, Truro, it would be a four hour round-trip to the Foxborough mass vaccination site.
He said that it’s a journey too far for some residents.
“I really believe that municipalities are the missing link here. If they have access to vaccines, they can and will get that vaccine to our most at-risk residents,” said Cyr.
Sean O’Brien, Director of the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, said that vaccinations continue across the region for those eligible using the doses that are available.
About Grady Culhane
