Vaccine Rollout: How It Will Work In Waltham

Jenna Fisher
Updated ·3 min read

WALTHAM, MA — Waltham's health department has been inundated with calls about how the city will implement the vaccine. The short answer? The city is working on a plan.

"The Commonwealth of Massachusetts determines 'Who' gets the vaccine and 'When' according to the phases that they have established," said Mayor Jeannette McCarthy in an update Thursday. "We constantly monitor the updates and changes that are issued by the Commonwealth."

The city's public safety departments including the health, police and fire department officials started getting the vaccine on Jan. 12. McCarthy said the second doses are in process for those departments now.

As for everyone else? The city is working on it.

"The Health Director, Board of Health, and City Departments are working on a plan and notice for public distribution site(s) for the general public when the State's vaccination phasing permits," McCarthy said.

The mayor said the Waltham Board of Health is drafting policies related to the rollout, and those will be presented by way of public hearing "shortly," but she did not specify when that might be.

The state granted the schools department to host a vaccination site, and when they have the vaccine and are eligible — during Phase Two, which begins in February — they will vaccinate staff at school.

The Senior center staff have been working on notifying seniors about a vaccine rollout at the Senior Center, also during Phase Two. That plan has yet to be reviewed by city health officials, she said.

And if the state shifts any part of the rollout plan, those vaccinations will be administered by the local Board of Health and Health somewhere in the city, according to the mayor.

The Health Department and Board of Health are also working on a policy for any privately run third-party vaccination sites in Waltham, she said.

The state vaccine timeline and priority list:

Phase One (December - February)* We are currently in the middle of this phase.

  • Clinical and non-clinical healthcare workers doing direct and COVID-facing care

  • Long term care facilities, rest homes and assisted living facilities

  • Police, fire and emergency medical services

  • Congregate care settings (including corrections and shelters)

  • Home-based healthcare workers

  • Healthcare workers doing non-COVID-facing care

Phase Two (February - April)

  • Individuals with 2+ comorbidities (high-risk for COVID-19 complications) and people 75 and older

  • Early education, K-12, transit, grocery, utility, food and agriculture, sanitation, public works and public health workers

  • Adults 65+

  • Individuals with comorbidities

Phase three (April - June)

  • General public. Once the vaccine is available to the general public, public vaccine clinics will be available on the CDC’s interactive website: vaccinefinder.org.

The vaccines will be distributed for free with no co-payments.


Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.

This article originally appeared on the Waltham Patch