Graphics courtesy of the Massachusetts Department of Health
By Kate Turner ‘21
News Editor
As of Feb. 24, the commonwealth of Massachusetts has begun COVID-19 vaccination for select groups of “priority” individuals, according to the Massachusetts Department of Health. The state will not begin vaccinating college students and employees until Phase 3 of vaccine rollout, slated to begin in April 2021.
In an email sent to community members on Wednesday, Feb. 17, Mount Holyoke stated that employees “who are eligible now have been supported to receive their vaccination” and referred students to state guidelines. It contained no other information on community eligibility for vaccination.
Broadly, vaccine rollout in Massachusetts has been divided into three “phases” by the Massachusetts Department of Health based on recommendations from “community leaders, health and racial equity experts” across the state. Each phase includes several groups of individuals, which are organized based on an assessment of risk.
Currently, all individuals included in Phase 1 of the state’s vaccine rollout and some groups of individuals from Phase 2 are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. These designated priority groups include individuals over 65 years old, people with two or more certain health conditions classifying them as “at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19,” health care workers, first responders and staff and residents in low-income senior housing, long-term care and congregate care settings.
However, not all groups included in Phase 2 are eligible for vaccination yet, including most designated essential workers and those with two or more health conditions that may put them at greater risk for COVID-19 complications. These Phase 2 individuals include “employees across the food, beverages, agriculture, consumer goods, retail and foodservice sectors,” “sanitation, public works and public health workers,” transit and transportation workers, grocery workers, court system workers and medical supply chain workers, among others.
Notably, one group of workers designated within Phase 2 includes “early education/daycare [and] K-12” employees, a category of educators that conspicuously does not include college and university employees.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Health, “If your group is not specifically listed in either Phase 1 or Phase 2, you will be eligible to receive the vaccine in Phase 3, which we expect to launch in April.”
On behalf of the College medical director and nursing coordinator, a Health Services official told the Mount Holyoke News that they would follow the state’s distribution plan. “We will continue to plan with our local and regional Boards of Health and our Five College colleagues toward the time when the majority of campus students and staff will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine,” the official said. “The state continues to project that to be in late spring. Updates regarding vaccine distribution will be shared through the weekly MHC This Week,” they continued, referring to the weekly update email sent to the College community.
For more information about individual eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine, consult the infographic provided.