New vaccine appointments quickly snapped up in Massachusetts
Only about 12,000 vaccine slots opened Thursday morning, down from 50,000 last week.
BOSTON (AP) — A limited number of new coronavirus vaccination appointments made available to Massachusetts residents Thursday were quickly snapped up, prompting the state to blame federal authorities for the limited supply.
Only about 12,000 vaccine slots opened Thursday morning, down from 50,000 last week.
No new first-dose appointments were available at several mass vaccination sites Thursday, according to a tweet from the state’s official account at about 7 a.m.
New appointments at Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, and the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston were not available due in part to “a large number of previously scheduled second-dose appointments.”
Due to limited federal supply and a large number of previously scheduled second-dose appointments, first dose appointments are no longer available today for Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, or the Reggie Lewis Center. Please check other locations for availability.
— Mass.gov (@MassGov) March 4, 2021
Eligible residents were instead advised to seek appointments at one of the state’s other mass vaccination sites, but by 11 a.m., the state tweeted all appointments at those sites had been booked.
Unfortunately due to limited supply, it will take about a month for all eligible residents to secure an appointment. Thank you for your patience. Please check back next week.
— Mass.gov (@MassGov) March 4, 2021
Gov. Charlie Baker has repeatedly said it may take weeks for eligible residents to book appointments because demand far exceeds vaccine supply.
Also Thursday, the first doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine were administered in the state. The new, single-dose vaccine received emergency federal authoritization just last weekend.
Get Boston.com's browser alerts:
Enable breaking news notifications straight to your internet browser.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com