Health

Mass vaccination site on Cape Cod opening for older residents

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) — Cape Cod is getting its own mass vaccination site that will at first work on getting shots to older residents of the region who haven’t been able to schedule an appointment at other sites, officials said.

The clinic at Cape Cod Community College in Barnstable is expected to dispense 4,000 doses next week, Michael Lauf, president and CEO of Cape Cod Healthcare, said Thursday, the Cape Cod Times reported.

The site being run by Cape Cod Healthcare with county and local officials.

The goal is to reach eligible older residents and those with health issues who have been left out in the stampede to off-Cape mass vaccination sites and to regional clinics that have limited appointments that quickly fill.

“If you just rely on these cattle call mass vaccination sites that rely on online registration, you’re not going to reach these people,” said state Sen. Julian Cyr, a Truro Democrat.

Members of the region’s legislative delegation have been pressing the state for more vaccines for Cape Cod, where about 30% of the population is 65 and older.

Health agents from the Cape’s 15 towns are working to identify people who are able to travel to the community college site but need help making appointments, as well as those who require home visits, Cyr said.


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