Question: I'm trying to schedule an appointment for my Mom who is over 75, to get the vaccine. CVS and Walgreens are no longer accepting appointments online. I called her primary care physician and they don't have the vaccine. Why doesn't MA have enough doses of the vaccine and when can I schedule an appointment? I can't spend all day trying to schedule an appointment online. This is very frustrating.

I tried to sign a friend up for the vaccine this morning as he is over 75 and does not have a computer and I went on to numerous site that said that they had opening and after putting in all the information got to the last screen and then it said not opening.

Is there a key to this graph? What do the colors mean?

50 percent

The darkest stages are doing best

My mother is 88 and a Florida resident, however, she has been with me for the past few months since she cannot get back to FL. She is not a MA resident. Can she get a vaccine here?

NY times map shows a different story…MA alone looking not as good. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-19-vaccine-doses.html

In New England at least

Mute your phone if you are not a speaker

The host of the meeting can also go into Settings and mute all participants. This is easier than asking each participant to mute themselves

As far as I can determine there are no vaccine appointments available in the Boston area. I am in phase 1 because I’m a therapist, and I’m in phase 2 because I’m 76, but nothing is available. I’m really disappointed in our state.

What is baffling and disturbing me most is the fact that hundreds of vaccines are being thrown out each day as they cannot be held after a certain number of hours. Other states have implemented lottery systems and waiting lists where you can sign up to receive a vaccine within a span of time at the end of the day so the vaccines will not go to waste and more folks can get the vaccine. Why hasn’t MA adopted a system like this?

Unfortunately I have several people who have experienced major problems accessing and scheduling an appointment... MANY fall into the 65-plus group??? Any plan to provide persons to help people work thru the system???Mel Poindexter - DNC

Let's let him speak to find out what the plan is, yes? :)

Q: What proof required for co-morbidity?

Shameful situation, really.

No one isn’t letting him speak, they are asking questions which he can choose to answer when he is ready

I have spent the entire day trying to get an appointment for the vaccine. Each location has a different form to fill out, so there is no way to quickly see where there are appointments. The state web site is a disaster.

The design of the systems for registering and making appointments for vaccinations is lamentable and very user unfriendly and frustrating. If this is not fixed then the proportion of vaccines distributed which get into arms will remain very unsatisfactory.

What about people under 65 who have serious autoimmune or cancer issues?

Absolutely Martyn

the state map is wrong in so many ways

The web-site is terrble

My experience is that the state web site re signing up for a place does not work

The plan is fine - the website is awful to navigate... (as you're saying!)

Impossible to use

There is only one site in our District (Fenway) and it isn’t taking reservations. How come? Why no other sites in your District?

The reality is pathetic for the 75+!

when you reach your phase can your doctor do it or get you appt

terrible website. my 98 year old mom was fortunate to have 3 adults working the site last night. we got an appt. terrible website. terrible rollout.

Thanks for your email and information Senator. Thanks Quinn for your work here as well. Under your website section “Schedule an Appointment” I see your link called “COVID Vaccine Map”. Can someone send me a link for this information in Spanish?

I was told today that that was not true.

If we’re going to be agist. If you ask me, the site was developed by a stoner, irresponsible, 28-year old. It’s ridiculous. And the 40-year old Gen Xer who supervised the “teenager” fell asleep at the wheel.

Its like the Hunger Games of Innoculations. Everyman man for himself.

Actually Shirley…. I think a young people, stoned or not would have made much more user friendly websites

I spoke to the office at Mt Auburn and was told we would just be getting the info about mass.gov in that invitation.

May have better luck getting an appointment if you look outside the Boston area. (Worcester, Malborough, etc...)

So can we contact our parents' primary are providers to see if they're in the queue or should we continue to make appointments on our own

These experiences demonstrate that the US including the Commonwealth does not have a public health system, which does not bode well for our future. Health care is very fragmented, and driven too much by a profit motive, which works well in many environments, and by the selfish lobbying of powerful special interests.

@ chris goward - I tried getting an appointment on the cape for my mom but I had the some problems with trying to schedule an appointment.

I know many people who do not fit into category 1 but who have ‘jumped the line’ by knowing someone in health care or having a connection. This is very disturbing.

Question 5 does not have a "not yet eligible" and needs one.

unable to submit

Q #5 does not accept an empty answer

Poll is no working won’t slide after third question

The poll didn’t seem to capture that because I am getting the vaccine through my employer, I didn’t have to reach out to schedule—instead, I was reached out to directly with an appointment

Ah, thanks, Quinn. Got it!

What about smaller players like Harvard Vanguard -- will they get their share of vaccine for their patients? Or only if there's something left after the major players get theirs?

there's no option for question 5 for "not yet tried"

Thanks Quinn!

We won’t be in postwar mode until wartime resources are allocated to fight the war.

And I too had two adult daughters trying to help me with no luck. and we’re all computer savvy.

I could not navigate it and I am pretty savvy. I needed my kids help.

Use the slider on the right side of the dialog box to access the later questions in the survey.

Folks, I was able to get my husband an over-75 slot at Walgreens on Gallivan Ave. in Dorchester for next Wednesday. They have slots available for 2/2 and 2/3. Note that you have to set up a Walgreen’s account first.

I’m 70& confused when I can get vaccine.

Quinn, yes, the web-site is a disaster

thanks Quinn.... smile 😁 Mel P 🗽 DNC

How do you “raise your hand” I don’t see that as an option

Under “participants”

Look under "Reactions".

Also, my MGH doctors’ practice (and their web site) say that they have no idea when they’ll get vaccine.

the leading story on the news this evening is the total screw up on availability and locations for the vaccination

I’m curious to know about spouses who fall into different categories . It seems somewhat pointless to have people who live together not get their vaccines at the same time

@Daria - in the participant list, go to your name and raise your hand :)

Thank you

Raise your hand is under Reactions, at the bottom

and finally, all of my friends in neighboring states and NYC have either been vaccinated or have appointments in the next week.

Thanks for your email and information Senator. Thanks Quinn for your work here as well. Under your website section “Schedule an Appointment” I see your link called “COVID Vaccine Map”. Can someone send me a link for this information in Spanish?

It should be obvious that the scheduling system should allow you to enter all information and if there is none available that you will be contacted when one does become available. Some other states have this sensible and obvious capability. As it is this process is also like trying to get tickets online for a very popular concert or play. Not a way to run something as critical as Covid vaccination

We all know this is one big mess. The real question is what the state going to do about this.

I hear you Barbara, very frustrating

Can ppl please mute - you're echoing

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-vaccination-locations-for-individuals-in-eligible-groups-and-phases

Click on Polls to find results

Results are still showing. You may have a dialog box blocking your view of the survey panel.

What pressure is being put on Governor Baker to correct this?

To see the state site in different languages, select language from the dropdown menu on the top blue bar

Yes

people I know have gone through their doctors and got immediate appts. both have drs at tufts

Would love to see drive through venues (I joined late so note sure if this was covered).

What is your advice, Senator?

I feel like I’m very safe. I live alone and don’t go out much. Can I give my place to someone who needs it more?

This is an easier site to use: https://www.maimmunizations.org/clinic/search

So did FLA not reserve the second doses ?

For different languages, click the squares on the top

Thanks for explaining that the big hospitals will be reaching to seniors. Is this true for hospitals across the state ?

https://willbrownsberger.com/latest/

https://willbrownsberger.com/vaccine-delivery/

It depends on the version of Zoom you’re using

https://willbrownsberger.com/how-to-get-the-vaccine/

https://willbrownsberger.com/a-dozen-ways-to-say-no/

Thanks Quinn and Will!

Thank you. Must leave now. I appreciate this so much.

Official position is that if you're going to start work within 6 weeks, you still count

You can lower your hand after you’re done in the same place as you raised it.

Persons with one comorbitidie still aren’t eligible until the end of phase 2

Yes thank you SPunky

good coverage, will and quinn! thanks!

Thank you, Quinn and Will!

again, why are some people getting appts through their doctors?

i'm not yet eligible, but would like to help - is there a way to volunteer to assist people with finding and scheduling appointments?

I’m so sorry Paula

+1 Dennis - yes!

that's really greatof you, @Dennis; thanks!

Thanks Dennis that’s a really nice offer.

I’d be interested in Will’s feeling about whether the difficulties in getting appointments is due to the fact that there just isn’t enough supply, or whether there are appointments available that people can’t find because the website is so bad.

I don’t have a raised hand on my computer. want to know if you are shy two months of 75 ( no commodity ) do you have to wait for the next round?

How do you raise hand?

I will be asking that Theresa

Naomi, go to “reactions”

what if you don’t have a primary doctor???

what about folks who are undocumented...how will they be able to receive the vaccine series?

You are required to show proof of age so I think you have to wait until later in Phase 2.

teesarj@icloud.com question about age not 75 yet

The co-morbidity list on the state site is *very* short. Maybe 12 in their list.

Dana-Farber just hosted an excellent info session at 5pm today. I believe it was recorded, and am therefore guessing it will be publicly available. They explained their plan, and they indeed requested that cancer patients and survivors not contact their practitioners directly, but rather that it will be organized centrally.

Mass General Medical Group said they;d let me know when I'm eligible, (Monday) and then I'd have to sign up online.

Yes. Or Haitian Creole.

This information should also be captioned.

100% Pablo

I may also potentially be able to help volunteer with scheduling.

I know of someone with a similar state problem. She lives in Southern NH and she gets her medical care in northern MA. Both states say she should get her vaccine in the other state.

There seems to be no way to get back to English when you try it!

is there some way to facilitate getting the vaccine at a medical site that's not in a mass distribution setting? specifically if you have allergies to vaccine components and have been advised to receive it in a medical setting that can rapidly handle a possible allergic/adverse reaction to components?

YES @Pablo 👏🏼👏🏼

My doctors at MGH and BI know nothing and said to go to the state website. I think they have overlooked Boston. I don’t have a car. And my handicapped daughter, who lives with me, has a several factors including a severe autoimmune disease.

Thanks for doing this. It must be frustrating for those in the health care system to deal with communicating with all of us, so it is excellent that you are helping with this.

It doesn’t seem to matter about the documents when appointments are not available

Just want to re-up the comment about captioning

@joanflorsheim, MGH/etc has been sending out emails that say info will be posted in Patient Gateway. I believe they do not have vaccines to distribute at this time - they said they will send out emails and post info.

Everyone should be vaccinated because one is still contagious to those who have not been vaccinated.

@Rita - you can still get the virus if you are vaccinated, and pass it to ppl.

me too so so disappointed w process in Massachusetts. too much complex stuff. you want to be vaccinated let’s get this going??!!!

I’m worried about the communities where most people don’t have doctors, e.g. the communities served by the Family Van - it’s hard enough for them to get access to care at the best of times.

try atriums health, they are currently open for phase 1 in needham

people are skeptical. those who are willing should have access. all the high tech here & researchers & intelligent people. i teach in higher.ed. I say F for fail.

Considering Moderna is in Boston, why not let them handle the rollout then a ton of different distribution centers?

“Opening up” during a COVID surge strikes me as nuts.

agree w Will in chat. omg. moderna is up the street.

If it hasn’t been said enough, thank you Senator Brownsberger!

Moderna is NOT equipped to do this!

Neither is the governor

Fair.

Joan - your question about working in private practice was helpful to me. This pretty much answered my question about my part-time role in children's program.

We have (or had, if now thrown out) almost 500,000 unused vaccines! Where are those vaccines and why don’t they use them?

absolutely agree w Holly too much waste.

This vaccine is different than all the rest that have come out. Watch Dr. Carrie Madej! https://visionlaunch.com/dr-carrie-madej-an-urgent-wake-up-call-about-new-covid-19-vaccine/

Holly is correct. My wife who works in Healthcare, tells me that vaccine are being wasted

I read on the Boston Globe website the other night that “hundreds of thousands” of vaccines were going unused.

Wait for Johnson & Johnson.

@Hilary yes because the one does get a person to 95 percent plus immunity until a couple of weeks after the second dose.

A lot of painters, carpenters, cleaners are working all over the city and can easily spread covid because they are around people all the time. Many are undocumented and don’t speak English. There needs to be outreach to them

J&J. same group who gave up toxic baby powder. and profit over safety. ?? b

Thank you very much for hosting this Senator Brownsberger and Quinn, this has been very helpful

What is 211? I called it 2 days ago, and it was very helpful.

I’ve read also waste of unused vaccines. we’re bottom of list out of 50 states. not good at all.

yes.

thanks for holding this forum. appreciate the info

211 has an online chat as well that's very helpful

I am wondering if the woman who spoke and is a therapist with a daughter with disabilities can the shots at the same time because there is a caretaker situation there and they'd still be contagious to the one who has not been vaccinated.

agree w speaker. so much talent. give it grad students at MIT. let them overhaul this. vaccines not used must be given out at end of each day.

You probably can be infectious even if you’ve been vaccinated

Same problems in NY trying to get my elderly parents with co-morbidities appointments.

One of the 3 new strains may require a third shot according to very early studies.

There are better mapping systems, such as ArcGIS / ERSI....and a whole network of programmers who specialize in GIS mapping.

^ yes, this exactly

thank you speaker for question. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

This is a terrific comment. People who are gaming the system should be called out if they don’t have a good rationale. I am also in Phase II and in no rush, as I am less at risk than many others.

everyone does not have primary care. I mean is that the rule

Don't go to Florida because there is major gaming going on.

Thank you Will and Quinn. We as Mass residents can also call the Governor Baker phone # (617) 725-4005

It will really be bad if e.g. undocumented immigrants can’t get vaccinated.

pretty much exclusive. what about average person. not cool

And can there be a website that actually can direct to you to any and all available appointments across the state?? I think many people would drive miles and miles but we’re not even able to see about appointments that are more than 30 miles away and having to log in and be in “the mine” on each specific site for hours just to then see once it’s “your turn” that "

Hi Dr Ward - everyone is able to get a vaccine regardless of status! It would be terrible if that wasn't the case

There are no appointments is so frustrating

ThankThank you, Senator Brownsberger and Quinn—extremely helpful

Understood, but I mean that if the distribution is through hospitals that will not work

Agreed with Elizabeth's iPhone!! If nothing else, I know what others are experiencing and that helps

Thanks 👍 Senator Will for tonight's meeting and update on the rollout plan....I have a 7pm Zoom meeting...Mel P 🗽 DNC

honestly. this is too much

My PCP is at MGH and they have a recording telling us they don’t know anything. The Partners system has no information. Patient Gateway at BI says the same thing.

Mass General/Partners is emailing and saying they will have info on website when they have vaccines to distribute

for most people to do. it’s an entire project. omg.

can you ask MDPH and whomever is administering the overall vaccine distribution to open-source the live (or near live) stream of the raw data so that they can be api called? there likely are folks with the technical background who would gladly help out with creating better and more intuitive data visualizations then what's currently out.

hello friends please do your research on yandex.com not Google and look into the safety of these vaccines and

the actual results being administered that you can’t find through Google

thank you Senator. frustrated & worried. but nice if you to do this

What about Mattapan? Roxbury? Dorchester?

It helps to know that that invite might not show up for a few weeks. Otherwise one has no idea where one is at

@JustLuv* LOL

Mt. Auburn Hospital has nothing on its website. They just want you to contribute money for PPE.

Thank you Barbara!

@Barbara - my parents are 87 and 91 in NY and have not been vaccinated.

Many friends with elderly parents in the City with the same issue.

absolutely agree w speaker. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Lucky that your friends have gotten vaccinated in NY.

The hospitals and health care providers must also be incredibly frustrated not to be able to provide info because they don't have it from the Governor yet.

You are amazing Will!!! Thank you!!!!

I am going to pass on this vaccine. Too many side effects.

ineffective & truly disappointing. I need to get back in classroom vaccine would help.

The hospitals don’t have the vaccine

@Sarah - it's not the hospitals - they don't have the vaccines yet or they would be distributing them!

We have Harvard affiliated hospitals. IT’s so inexcusable

Are there estimates of WHEN the big health plans will get new shipments??

not just seniors confused. my adult sons are saying same thing. where’s the clear messaging???

being a regular patient should Not be standard. what about everyone else????

Some really smart suggestions from your constituency. The Governor should do what you're doing and open up the forum to MA citizens and implement some of these excellent suggestions? Thank you for doing this. It's good to hear others' concerns. We are out here, we are concerned, motivated and eager to see a much better state Covid Vaccine response.

Getting one dose will give you some immunity ranging between 52 to 85 percent according to City Line on channel 5.

Better than nothing.

Will, Thank you so much for doing this call. This rollout is nuts, but it’s comforting to know you’re fighting for us!

Charlie Baker should know better! He was head of Harvard Pilgrim for 10 years. As I remember he was appointed with the mandate to cut expenses and get them out of the red. He cut payments to providers in order to save HP money.

in the meantime keeping wearing the masks!

Yes, thank you Gabriella!!! I concur! :)

100% agree! thank you, Senator, and your hardworking team!

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Gabriella

Thanks very much for doing this!!

can you ail that self attestation form to people who don't have printers?

Thanks Will and Quinn. This has been very helpful.

Thank you for putting this together, Senator Brownsberger and Ms. Diaz!

Senator, thank you for having this outreach call this evening. This issue is of great concern to the residents of Belmont and the State and I appreciate you taking the time to listen and to act. Mark Paolillo

I have asthma. The last time I looked, that doesn't eve count as one of their comobidites

it "might" increase your risk, so they're not counting it

Thank you Senator! This is very helpful to reduce stress & anxiety! Please tell the Governor we need a multi- lingual hotline to help many who do not have a cell phone or Internet.

Thx tons Will for your terrific briefing & the lively, robust exchange: we seem to have nowhere to go but up, given this deplorable roll-out (notably as regards phase II). Looking forward to great things coming out from your meeting with the talented, dynamic Mary Lou Sudders! 3 Cheers, Brenda

we have not received an email from MA as well.

Many thanks, Will!

The state doesn't seem to have much in the way of public health information out on the airways, or billboards, or all the various media outlets. Why not? We should be inundated with a really aggressive marketing campaign. For example, we should be getting info that getting a shot doesn't mean "you're fine, now". People aren't getting enough information.

Thanks, Will!

where in Watertown?!! sounds good

Thanks Will and Quinn!

Thank you Senator and staff for all this information and updates! very helpful

what if you have multiple medication sensitivities ?

Thank you for offering this.

Thank you!

Thanks again WIll!

Thank you Will!

Thank you!

Is there a way to get my comment to Alexandra?