Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, Big E Fairgrounds To Be First Responder Vaccination Sites
BOSTON (CBS) - From the front lines to the vaccination lines, 45,000 first responders in Massachusetts are set to get COVID-19 vaccinations starting January 11.
In Boston, first responders can get shots at Tufts Medical Center. A hospital spokesperson said the state promised a supply of Moderna vaccine to launch the program there within the next week.
Mayor Marty Walsh is pushing for an efficient roll-out. "What we don't want is thousands of vaccines here in the city of Boston sitting in a freezer somewhere," Walsh said.
He said the state is finalizing plans to use Fenway Park as a mass distribution site for first responders, and according to the head of the state firefighters association, Gillette Stadium and the Big E fairgrounds are also being tapped.
"I'm hoping our guys come out in full force to get it done," said Newton Fire Chief Gino Lucchetti. His firefighters are prepared to get vaccinations at Newton City Hall. There are about 60 approved vaccination locations across the state.
At a news conference in Springfield Tuesday, Governor Charlie Baker said by the end of the weekend, the federal government had shipped 287,000 doses of COVID vaccine to Massachusetts. Less than half had made it into the arms of healthcare workers and people in long-term care facilities, an effort that continues this week.
"The speed with which it will happen, is going to be very much a function of how fast the vaccine actually gets distributed by the feds," said Governor Charlie Baker. He said more lead time would help. "The window with respect to the next, sort of, arrival is a few days. We'd love to see it be a little longer than that, so we could plan a little farther."