NEW BEDFORD Kevin Gallagher, chief of the Acushnet Fire Department, said earlier this week that the waterfront vaccine center on Hervey Tichon Avenue was empty and that there was no wait during his visit.
“Let’s face facts, empty sites usually get closed down sooner than later, he wrote in a Facebook post shared by more than 2,700 people. Our hope is that you take advantage of this opportunity before it is lost. Ask anyone who has tried to schedule appointments on line or by phone. Nothing beats simply walking in.”
Mayor Jon Mitchell posted a video on Facebook a few days earlier during his visit to the center on April 25. At that point, the clinic only had 30 appointments remaining through the next four to five hours, and was wide open for walk-ins.
No Wait, No Line: Some COVID Vaccine Clinics Suddenly Open Doors To Walk-Ins
CBS Boston 4/29/2021 Syndicated Local – CBS Boston
MARLBORO (CBS) – There were so many doses of Moderna and Pfizer at Marlboro Hospital’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic in the Courtyard Marriott, organizers were practically begging people to come get a shot. “When I saw this, I said wow, this can’t be true,” said Michael Murdock, who called his neighbor from the parking lot of the walk-in clinic.
His neighbor David Farreh canceled his appointment at a clinic further away, and came right over. “I actually had an appointment in New Hampshire,” he said.
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FAIRHAVEN Fairhaven and Acushnet officials say they were ready to distribute the vaccine, but the state pulled the rug from under them by diverting supplies to the mass vaccination sites.
“The state was pushing us smaller municipalities into emergency planning. We were ready to go and were confident we wouldn’t disappoint the community. Then the state made this decision and pulled the rug from under us,” said Kevin Gallagher, fire chief for Acushnet Fire Department. Gov. Charlie Baker made the decision earlier this month to stop distributing vaccines for COVID-19 to local municipal clinics in order to supply mega sites run by the state.
New Bedford Fires Not Related, Chief Kruger Says
New Bedford crews battled five major fires in seven days, and one of the fires is being investigated as arson. However, there is no evidence that the fires are related, according to Acting Fire Chief Scott Kruger. There have been several major fires lately in our city besides this one but there is no connection between them, Kruger was quoted in a Jan. 29 statement sent from the Office of State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey announcing a determination that the Jan. 27 fire at 124 Bonney had been intentionally set.
Kruger provided WBSM News with an update on the status of the five fire investigations: