Board of Health

The 2-1-1 now has several options to choose from. Listen carefully when calling in.
Read this flyer for more information.

SCHEDULING YOUR VACCINE APPOINTMENT
Blandford Board of Health urges residents to go online and schedule your vaccine appointments if you qualify in the Phase II vaccination process. You will be directed to the closest location to Blandford.

If you are 75 and older and are unable to use or have difficulty accessing the internet, to schedule an appointment online, you can call 2–1–1 and follow prompts to reach The Massachusetts Vaccine Scheduling Resource Line. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

The resource line is available in English and Spanish and will have translators available. Individuals ages 75 and older will be able to speak to a representative live on the phone to assist them with an appointment. If no appointments are available, callers will have the option to be placed on a call back list for the mass vaccination sites. The vaccination site and the list will be called on a first-come first-served basis.

The Massachusetts Vaccine Scheduling Resource Line is for scheduling appointments only and representatives are not able to answer general questions about COVID-19 or provide individual health care advice.

Since January 8, 2021, the Board of Health has spent numerous hours working on providing the town with a vaccine clinic. We have worked with the Department of Public Health, MIIS, Bay State and Prep Mod.

On February 16th, we received notification our MCVP agreement was complete and “Provider site is eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available.” On February 15th, we received authorization from Bay State to over see our vaccine clinic.

On February 17th, we authorized Solow to ship our required refrigeration/freezer unit.

On February 18th, the Board of Health received the following from Secretary of State Marylou Sudders who wrote:

“Effective the week of March 1st, the state will no longer provide first dose vaccines for individual municipal clinics, except for the twenty disproportionately impacted communities and established and approved Regional Collaboratives. Municipalities will receive second doses to ensure that all residents have been fully vaccinated by individual local Board of Health clinics.”

The Blandford Board of Health can continue to provide a vaccine clinic but would have to open this clinic to all individuals in the state of Massachusetts and collaborate with our surrounding towns. This means we would have to have more paperwork and commitments from the surrounding towns guaranteeing the state we would produce 750 vaccines a day/5 day a week.

During COVID-19, the administration has changed their regulations so many times, it has always been hard to keep up with. This last change, I honestly have no words for. We have been led to believe up until the very last day, that we could provide our small town with a vaccine clinic.

VACCINES

• BBOH is anticipating a vaccine station to be up and running towards the end of February. There is a lengthy approval process we must go through and to date, we are well on our way!!! We would be offering the vaccine on Tuesday and Saturdays. When we get closer to the opening of our vaccine clinic, we will notify residents on how to sign up.
• The easiest way to schedule a vaccine appointment or check availability is to use the online system at mass.gov/covidvaccine. At this time, Blandford is not listed as a vaccine site. We will be on this list toward the end of February.

Massachusetts Vaccine scheduling Resource Line for 75 and Older
In the meantime, if you are 75 and older and are unable to use or have difficulty accessing the internet, to schedule an appointment online, you can call 2–1–1 and follow prompts to reach The Massachusetts Vaccine Scheduling Resource Line. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

The resource line is available in English and Spanish and will have translators available.

Individuals ages 75 and older will be able to speak to a representative live on the phone to assist them with an appointment. If no appointments are available, callers will have the option to be placed on a call back list for the mass vaccination sites. The vaccination site and the list will be called on a first come first served basis.

The Massachusetts Vaccine Scheduling Resource Line is for scheduling appointments only and representatives are not able to answer general questions about COVID-19 or provide individual health care advice.

PHASE III – STEP I – Order No. 62

• Returning to a 40% capacity for businesses
• Close contact is 5 people per 1000 sq
• Restaurants have 90 minute cap on seating
• No.57 rescinded and 9:30 PM closings are no longer in effect
• Gatherings remain at 10 and outdoor gatherings remain at 25

As always, please feel to reach out to us with any questions or concerns at [email protected]. Call us at (413) 848-4279, extension 401. To ensure a call back, please use our extension.