Methuen gets 400 more COVID-19 vaccines
Feb. 28—METHUEN — After getting snubbed by the state for two weeks, the city this week got 400 COVID-19 vaccines and will conduct a clinic on Tuesday.
Mayor Neil Perry said the city got the vaccines Thursday evening and opened up online registration at 8:05 a.m. Friday after contacting 100 people still on the waiting list.
The remaining 300 vaccines were gobbled up almost instantly, despite some technical difficulties that left people with an error message even though they did actually get signed up, Perry said.
Once that technical problem was worked out, the appointments were confirmed, he said.
"Those 400 slots went in the blink of an eye," he said.
The delivery was seen as a win by Perry, who started a clinic at The Loop in early February, vaccinating 100 people a week over a two-week period. Then the state cut off the supply, providing the city with zero vaccines for two weeks in a row.
The cutoff created an outcry from city and state officials, who demanded that Gov. Charlie Baker provide shots to local clinics, particularly serving elderly people and others who may have trouble reaching the mass vaccination sites at Fenway Park or Gillette Stadium.
Perry singled out state Sen. Diana DiZoglio, D-Methuen, for her tireless efforts on behalf of the city, writing letters to the governor and getting interviewed by multiple media outlets to raise awareness about the inequity of the vaccine rollout.
"I appreciate Diana going in there and slugging it out for us," Perry said, noting that she was interviewed on several TV news programs and mounted an effective letter-writing campaign to the governor. "She was saying the solution has to include a local element. It's one thing for me as a mayor to say, but it's more powerful when a state senator says it. I really appreciate it that she's with us and my thanks go out to her."
DiZoglio said she would continue to fight for local clinics throughout her district.
"Four hundred is an uptick from zero and I will continue to advocate in the strongest possible terms that our most vulnerable residents deserve continued, equitable access to the vaccine," she said Saturday.
In addition to the clinic at The Loop, area residents can also try to get appointments at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center clinic at 47 Pelham St. as well as at CVS in Methuen.
There is also a site being run by Lawrence General Hospital at South Lawrence East Elementary School.
Mass vaccination sites are set up at the Doubletree Hotel in Danvers as well as in Springfield, Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium.
Currently, shots are being provided to anyone over age 65 and people with two or more co-morbidities, or underlying health issues, such as heart disease and obesity.
