Eligibility for Phase 2 Covid vaccination now includes those age 65+ and PreK-12 educators and school staff will be eligible starting March 11. Those seeking appointments near South Hadley might want to try periodically checking the direct links below for sites in our area. Baystate, which is very well run, has had occasional openings pop up in recent days. Northampton and Amherst are collaborating and release their weekly appointments on Monday mornings at 11:00am. Baystate, Noho Senior Center, and Amherst have had both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, though a choice is not always available. The Eastfield Mall location, which is now running more smoothly, has had Pfizer and has been releasing their appointments on Thursday mornings at 8am, but occasionally availability for small numbers of slots show up on the direct link. The state has announced that some Johnson & Johnson shots will also begin to be available shortly.
- Baystate Health-Holyoke, near Holyoke Mall
https://workwell.apps.baystatehealth.org/guest/covid-vaccine/register?r=mafirstresp210121 - Northampton Senior Center (PrepMod may require health card photo)
https://www.northamptonma.gov/2219/COVID-19-Vaccination-Clinics - Amherst-Bangs Center
https://www.amherstcovid19.org/vaccine - Eastfield Mall-Springfield (Curative requires health card photo and validation number retrieved by text or email)
https://curative.com/sites/24182#9/42.1408/-72.4864 - CVS, Big Y, and Stop & Shop may also have appointments available through their systems.
The state’s main vaccine locator website is: https://vaxfinder.mass.gov
Two other useful locator sites have been created by volunteer groups:
https://www.macovidvaccines.com and https://vaccinatema.com
Also, state Senator Jo Comerford has compiled additional information for western MA on her website: https://senatorjocomerford.org/constituent-guide-to-covid-19/#Vaccine.
Text and Email notifications are available through two services created by volunteers (Boston Globe, 3/5/21) who experienced frustrations trying to find appointments for family members:
Massachusetts COVID Vaccination Help:
A Step-by-Step Guide for Securing Your Appointment
https://macovidvaxhelp.com/resources?locale=en
To
help eligible people seeking to book their own appointments, a volunteer group organizer has created a resource page showing how-to steps to
research, prepare to book, search for, and secure an appointment (see the link above). A story published in the Boston Globe on March 2, 2021 describes a volunteer group of mostly young women who have banded together to help those eligible for vaccination land appointments. Frustration with the process has been particularly keen especially among older residents who find the system difficult to navigate, but even those with technical expertise have been stymied by the process.
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