BCAT News

The Burlington Board of Health is ready to ramp up its COVID-19 vaccinations of residents as the state enters Phase 2 of the process but they have an issue – they can’t get enough doses. 

Health Director Susan Lumenello said they had planned to vaccinate 800 people in one day when Phase 2 begins next week but that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has nowhere near that many doses of the vaccine to allot to the town. She said DPH said the town would not receive more than 100 doses in one week until mid to late February. 

Phase 2, which begins on February 1, will first prioritize individuals over 75 years of age, followed by those 65 and over or people with at least two comorbidities. After that comes educators, transit, utility, food and agriculture, sanitation, public works and public health workers. The final group in the phase are individuals with one comorbidity. 

In Phase 1 the Board of Health vaccinated 200 first responders and is set to deliver the second dose to them in the weeks ahead. 

Lumenello, speaking at Tuesday night’s Board of Health meeting, expressed frustration about the lack of doses of the vaccine. 

“I can’t really plan for a bigger type of clinic unless I know how many doses we’re going to get,” she said. “I was told not to start signing people up for clinics until we’ve been approved for the doses. We request them and it takes several days to get a response and now I can only plan for the next two weeks. Hopefully we’ll get more information and we can plan after that but it depends on how much they are going to decide to allocate and where.”

Board Chair Dr. Ed Weiner also said he was upset at the situation. 

“I just want to note how frustrated we are,” he said. “We are dealing with a moving target with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. We were ready to begin 800 doses a day and we just can’t get the vaccine. I am just so frustrated with this.”

Dr. Weiner said he has reached out for help in getting more vaccines but thus far the effort has not changed anything. 

“I have called State Rep. Ken Gordon daily and he’s doing everything he can to push the governor’s office and push the Department of Public Health to expedite the delivery of doses,” he said. “He’s doing the best he can and he’s frustrated as well.” 

He also noted that other states, including New Hampshire and Florida, have had more success with vaccine distribution than Massachusetts, something he finds strange considering that Massachusetts is well known as a hub for hospitals and biotech companies. 

“There are plenty of vaccines in other states but I don’t know what’s going on in Massachusetts and I’m embarrassed by the situation,” he said. 

Finally, Dr. Weiner said the Board of Health and the Medical Reserve Corp are ready to distribute the vaccines as soon as they arrive. He noted that for nearly the last 10 years the town has used its flu clinics as emergency training for just such a situation. 

“We are ready,” he said. “The Board of Health has been drilling for this for almost a decade. We are ready to go just get us the vaccine.”