Wait For COVID Vaccine Appointments Could Take A Month For Those Eligible
BOSTON (CBS) - A total of just 12,000 new first dose appointments for mass vaccinations sites in Massachusetts were made available Thursday morning and they went fast. All appointments for the seven locations next week were booked by 10:30 a.m.
"Unfortunately due to limited supply, it will take about a month for all eligible residents to secure an appointment," the state tweeted Thursday.
Last week, about 50,000 new first dose appointments were available.
The state announced Wednesday that fewer first dose appointments for next week were being posted at mass vaccination sites in order to get more people their second dose. Governor Charlie Baker said more than 45,000 second dose appointments have already been scheduled.
Massachusetts expects to receive about 150,000 first doses of vaccine per week until the end of March, when supply is expected to increase.
New appointments at the seven mass vaccination sites are made available every Thursday.
Next week, teachers and school staff will be allowed to book appointments at all sites in Massachusetts, adding about 400,000 people to the current group of eligible residents.
CVS has already added teachers to its eligibility list because it's part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. If you're eligible, you can sign up for an appointment at a pharmacy. They are booking up fast, but the website will take you to a waiting room page and, in some cases, it will let you in after about 15 minutes. However, some waits may be more than an hour.
Visit Mass.Gov/CovidVaccine to find out when you're eligible and to book an appointment, or call the hotline at 211.
