COVID-19 vaccine: Signs of hope in Chelsea, which remains in the red zone

CHELSEA, Mass. — Health insurance or not, everyone in the city of Chelsea can get the vaccine for free. But as of right now, there are no vaccination sites there. Month after month, Boston 25 News reporter Malini Basu has been reporting from Chelsea since the pandemic began. It’s been hit hard, and mostly everyone here is an essential worker – many of whom have lost their jobs and were forced to live with multiple people, sometimes even complete strangers, in one apartment.

“We scared. Everybody is scared,” said Martha Amaya, who is a volunteer and an essential worker.

Martha Amaya recently recovered from COVID-19. She works at La Colabrativa in Chelsea, a non-profit organization that provides food for those in need. Amaya was hoping to be considered an essential worker, so she could be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“When you give the boxes, you never know who is going to take the boxes, you never know if these people sick or not,” said Amaya.

Many in the city are undocumented immigrants who lost their jobs.

“We were ground zero,” said Gladys Vega, the executive director for La Colabrativa.

Now they’re fighting for every dollar and every meal, which is why thousands of people stood in line for hours just to get food.

“We don’t want to lose another life. we want to have some normalcy,” Vega said.

Vega is hopeful the vaccine makes its way to her city soon.

“We remain one of the poorest cities, if not the worst in terms of poverty, and the COVID virus made it worse,” said Vega.

“It is our expectation that retail pharmacy locations must prioritize Chelsea, Revere, Mattapan, Dorchester, Roxbury,” said Mary Lou Sudders, Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The city remains in the red zone, and the virus is still spreading.

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