The state has approved the Town of Marion to receive 100 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination for those eligible through Phase 2 of the state’s vaccination distribution plan, according to the Town’s latest press release.
“The big problem,” said Marion Board of Health Chairman Dr. Edward Hoffer on February 2, “is there simply is not enough of the vaccine available.”
The BOH’s solution was to begin distributing vaccines to its oldest citizens first.
These 100 doses have explicitly been allotted only for those 75-years-old and older, who became eligible on Monday, February 1, through Phase 2 of the state’s vaccination distribution plan. However, the BOH is prioritizing residents by age and has been working down a list provided by the state based on census data of residents from oldest to youngest in the 85-years-old and older category.
BOH member Dot Brown said she spent hours on the phone over the past few days with Marion residents, beginning with age 85+ and then starting to call residents who are 84 years old. So far, 86 of those 100 doses are spoken for. The seniors who have signed up for their first dose will receive them on Friday, February 5.
“We’re hoping that going forward, we’ll be able to use an email … mass mailing … and we’ll be able to use the emails to give people the link to be able to sign up,” said Brown.
According to the press release, residents 85-years-old and older who want to make sure they are on the list can contact the Town of Marion through a newly established hotline at 508-748-3509 to leave a message with their contact information. The Town of Marion is seeking additional vaccination allotments and will notify the community promptly if the state provides more vaccines for future weekly clinics.
Dr. Hoffer said that the Town continues to sign up each week for eligibility to provide vaccines to its citizens for the following week.
“We know many residents who become eligible on Monday have had a hard time obtaining an appointment, and we are so thankful to have been given these vaccines to provide to our residents,” Town Administrator Jay McGrail said in the press release. “However, this is a very limited number of doses, and so we’re prioritizing residents by age at this time. I’d also like to thank our Board of Health for their hard work in making this clinic possible.”
The press release urges residents eligible through Phase 1 and those who became eligible for the vaccination on February 1 through the state’s distribution plan to make an appointment by going to mass.gov/COVIDvaccine to find their phase and priority group. To find a vaccine clinic nearby, visit mass.gov/COVIDvaccineMap.
If a resident is having difficulty navigating the website to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, call the Town of Marion at 508-748-3509 for support.
Although the state is creating more mass vaccination sites, vaccination depends on availability, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at this time, is prepared to distribute more vaccinations than it has.
“The state has not yet announced when individuals 65-years-old and older and those with two or more comorbidities will be able to receive the vaccine,” the press release states. “This will be announced when more information is available about additional doses of the vaccine to be provided to the state by the federal government.”
The vaccine will not be available to the general public until April.
Dr. Hoffer announced during the meeting that the Town has added supplemental funding to the Board of Health’s fiscal year 2022 budget to cover the cost of additional nursing hours to assist later in the year when the Town will be providing the vaccine to Marion residents of the general population. He also stated that residents at Little Neck Village had received their first dose of the vaccine through the same state pharmacy program that provided vaccines to staff and residents at Sippican Healthcare Center, which freed up more of the 100 vaccines allotted to Marion seniors.
All the staff and residents at Sippican Healthcare Center have already received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. There are, however, four confirmed positives cases currently at the nursing home.
According to Public Health Nurse Lori Desmarais, Marion currently has 39 active COVID-19 cases for a total of 332 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.
At Sippican School, there are zero quarantines, zero in isolation, and there have been 28 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
Old Rochester Regional Junior High School reports seven people in quarantine and four in isolation, with a total of 28 cases. ORR High School presently has nine in quarantine and two in isolation, and a total of 68 cases so far.
Tabor Academy has welcomed back its students over the past weekend after a two-week pre-arrival quarantine. Testing was performed on staff and students upon arrival, with zero positive results.
“They did awesome,” said Desmarais. “The testing all came back negative, so that is a good thing.”
Tabor Academy will continue to perform routine COVID-19 testing over the coming weeks.
The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health will be held on Tuesday, February 16, at 4:00 pm.
Marion Board of Health
By Jean Perry