Gillette Stadium to be state's first mass-vaccine center
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Gov. Charlie Baker announcing coronavirus pandemic response details at the Worcester Senior Center
Gillette Stadium in Foxborough will be the state's first mass-vaccination center, joining smaller sites that dot Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker said in Worcester on Tuesday.
Gillette will begin vaccinations of healthcare workers Thursday and first responders, including police officers and firefighters, on Monday, Baker said in a press conference at the Worcester Senior Center. The stadium will have a daily capacity of 300 vaccines initially, a number that will later hit 5,000 daily and ultimately much more, he said.
The Worcester Senior Center is one of 19 sites statewide where first responders can now get vaccinated. Worcester's facility opened Monday, staffed in large part by UMass Medical School students. Others include the Southbridge Community Center, HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster, and Marlborough Hospital.
Baker repeated pleas he's made countless times before: for residents to continue wearing masks, safely distancing from one another and limiting close contacts with anyone outside their immediate household.
“In the meantime, everyone still has to do their part to stop the spread of the virus in the months ahead," he said.
Baker also urged people to get vaccinated, a list that has started with healthcare workers, later long-term care facility residents and first responders, and later, the general public. "These vaccines are safe and effective," he said.
The governor didn't want to predict how quickly vaccines more broadly can be administered in the state because of unknowns around how quickly vaccines can be produced and distributed.
“We’ll move as quickly as the distribution plan moves," he said.
Just over 140,000 vaccinations have been conducted statewide as of Jan. 7, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
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