Some public housing authorities in western Massachusetts are planning to have COVID-19 vaccination clinics for eligible residents.
In Springfield, the housing authority said more than half of its nearly 8,000 residents meet the state's guidelines for receiving a shot. The clinics start this week, and will be held near housing developments to cut down on travel for people living there.
“Most of our residents do not live close enough to the vaccine sites to get there without a lot of difficulty," said Denise Jordan, the Springfield Housing Authority's Executive Director. "This helps a lot.”
The vaccination effort is a partnership with the city, the state, the housing authority and the city's ambulance contractor, which will facilitate the program.
In Chicopee, housing officials are planning to hold similar clinics in the coming weeks. The city's housing authority executive director, Monica Pacello Blazic said vaccine doses have been located, and now they are working through some of the logistics.
"We talked originally about doing 300-people clinics at a time, which now they're saying that is way too large," Pacello Blazic said. "Our partner said they would rather do smaller clinics."
The executive director of Holyoke's housing authority, Matthew Mainville, said a series of clinics starts Thursday. He said he expects about 200 vaccinations will be provided.
The Worcester Housing Authority has also been vaccinating eligible residents.
