An illustration of COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
HYANNIS – Cape Cod COVID-19 Response Task Force members praised the recent increases in COVID vaccination efforts across the region as all residents 16 and older become eligible for the vaccine.
According to the most recent reports from the state released Thursday, 41 percent of individuals in Barnstable County are fully vaccinated, while 59 percent have received at least one dose.
“Those are really the best numbers in the state. We’re leading the state and as we should given the demography of the region,” said Cape & Islands State Senator Julian Cyr, a member of the task force.
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine is reporting that over 28 percent of the state’s total population has been fully vaccinated against the virus.
Barnstable County has a significant amount of older residents when compared to the rest of Massachusetts and the nation at large.
He said that the region, especially the Outer Cape, has also done well in vaccinating essential workers, one of the demographics made eligible in the final steps of Phase 2 of the state’s distribution plan.
“We certainly want to thank all the people, particularly the family, friends, caregivers, anyone who has helped vulnerable members of our community secure a vaccine appointment in the last couple weeks and months. I think without that proactive, in-it-together approach we wouldn’t have the vaccine rates that we are seeing across Cape Cod,” said Cyr.
Cyr said that the task force is still concerned over the vaccine distribution process on Martha’s Vineyard, and Barnstable/Dukes/Nantucket State Representative Dylan Fernandes has sent a letter to the state’s COVID command center to raise awareness for Dukes County.
He also said that Nantucket is also in need of a larger supply of vaccine, which has a high population of essential workers and other vulnerable individuals but has been left out of state efforts, according to Cyr.
The task force also welcomed Denise Harris to their weekly meeting, a Hyannis resident who is spearheading a memorial to honor those who have died due to COVID-19, including her father.
She plans to memorialize each victim with an individual flag bearing their name—with permission from the victims’ families—around the Airport Rotary in Hyannis.
“It just feels like they were robbed. They had to die alone. There was no closure for the families. So I’m hoping in some small, little minute way that maybe seeing the flags will give the families a little bit of feeling and something for them,” said Harris.
CapeAir is funding the purchase of the flags, so with the money she originally raised for the effort, Harris plans to provide a scholarship fund for local high schoolers.
Barnstable County Health and Environment Director Sean O’Brien said that even as the region experiences a lower infection rate and more and more residents are getting vaccinated, the Cape cannot relax on safety guidance.
“We cannot reinforce how important it is for people to still wear masks, how important it is for people to use hand sanitizer, social distancing, and if someone isn’t feeling well, staying home from work or school. Whatever needs to be done to prevent the spread of COVID,” said O’Brien.
The task force is encouraging all residents 16 and older to register with the state’s pre-registration program available on mass.gov in order to book a free vaccination appointment.
Barnstable County’s clinics are also now available through the state system, which will notify users of open appointments at mass vaccination sites and county-run public clinics.
About Grady Culhane
