LYNNFIELD — It was smooth sailing Saturday at Lynnfield’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the middle school.
Not only did 77 residents, ages 75 to 102, get their first shots of the Moderna vaccine, but the town learned that a larger number of its senior population may actually be inoculated, or registered to be inoculated than previously thought.
“We still don’t know how many people over the age of 75 are due,” Fire Chief Glenn Davis said. “We did a lot of community outreach for this clinic and had reserved 90 appointments, but we couldn’t fill all of the spots. We hope this means that our seniors may be getting vaccinated elsewhere.”
“The Senior Center has a lot of relationships with these people and when they started calling people, they were told they already got their doses. We’re fortunate,” added Senior Center Director Linda Naccara. “What we heard from these calls was many people indicated they had already registered at different sites or had already gotten their shots.”
Davis said there are 1,240 seniors, aged 75 and older, in Lynnfield, according to the most recent census data.
Judith O’Brien, a 46-year Lynnfield resident, said the clinic ran like clockwork.
“It went great with no problems at all, totally stress-free,” O’Brien said. “It was on time, there was no waiting and I had no problems registering. Right now, I feel perfectly fine.”
Davis described the clinic as a total team effort.
“We set up a system with the Senior Center and the Lynnfield Public Library assisted several people on computers and over the phone, so it was definitely a team approach,” Davis said. “The Emergency Management Team was amazing — the fire department, the police department, (and) town leadership with Rob Dolan and Bob Curtin were great. And, of course, the Select Board supporting our endeavors.”
Davis said that obtaining the vaccine from the state has been “challenging,” and he knows of several larger vaccine sites that planned to conduct clinics within the next week and a half will not be able to open due to lack of vaccine supply.
“It’s not a local-level problem, it’s a state-level issue on getting these doses,” Davis said. “We worked hard to get them, we are going to work hard to get the second doses on March 13. The state has promised communities that second doses have priority over first doses, so we are hopeful.”
A 73-year-old woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said her husband — a veteran — had already received his second dose and she was hoping to get her first shot at the clinic as a walk-in.
“I am so disturbed that doses are getting thrown out,” she said. “I thought maybe a spot would open up, or maybe there were extra doses so I could get a shot today. I understand there are rules, but thought there’s no harm in trying.”
Davis said he understands the woman’s concerns about wasted doses, but it comes down to state guidelines.
“Unfortunately, I had to say no to several people who are short of their 75th (birthday) because of the guidelines,” he said. “If I make one exception, why couldn’t I make exceptions for others? The state has been very strong that we should not be scheduling people outside of the current phase of people who are eligible. Obviously, nobody wants doses to go to waste and we monitor our doses very accurately to account for every single dose and where it goes.”
Unused doses can be refrigerated for up to 30 days, according to Davis.
Naccara and a handful of volunteers ended their workday at the clinic by getting their first doses as well.
“We had to wait till the end to see if there were any doses left. We could only get it after everyone who had registered got theirs,” said Naccara, who credited Davis for keeping the clinic running smoothly this past weekend.
“We may have made the calls, but Chief Davis is really the man of the hour. He really coordinated the whole thing from beginning to end and deserves the credit for the success of this clinic.”
“When they are walking out thanking you, saying that they are elated and happy that they are being protected, that’s a good day,” said Davis. “We had a 102-year-old that came today. A neighbor brought her today and we were able to get her vaccinated and got her back home safely. Again, just a neighbor reaching out to a neighbor in need.”
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
