More than 150 UMass Medical School students are being trained to help quickly administer COVID-19 vaccinations in Worcester.
The students are part of an effort the Worcester school detailed on Wednesday to provide the highly anticipated shots to first responders, including firefighters and police officers, as well as residential care facility residents. Chancellor Michael Collins and UMass President Marty Meehan have also advocated for similar widespread vaccination efforts statewide.
More than 30,000 vaccinations have been shipped to health facilities in Worcester County as of Dec. 31, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, enough to cover 3.6% of the county s population. That s a share of more than 285,000 doses shipped statewide. More than 78,000 shots have been administered, according to the DPH, including what Worcester city officials have said are thousands at UMass Memorial Health Care and Saint Vincent Hospital.