Buddy system offered to boost 75-and-over vaccinations
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker AP FILE PHOTO/STEVEN SENNE
Published: 2/11/2021 12:06:11 PM
Anyone — but only one person — who accompanies a senior 75 or older to get a COVID-19 vaccine at one of the state’s mass vaccination sites are eligible starting Thursday to get a shot themselves, Gov. Charlie Baker said, detailing a new plan Wednesday to try to reach as many elderly residents as possible.
Baker said the new policy was designed to better reach a population that he described as being at a significantly higher risk of being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19 as those even slightly younger. With a little over a week of experience vaccinating the 75-and-older population, the governor said health officials have learned that many “might be hesitant to go to a mass vaccination site without a relative or a caregiver.”