Office of Governor Baker
Gov. Charlie Baker is set to provide an update on COVID-19 vaccination in Massachusetts on Thursday.
He is scheduled to speak at 12 p.m. from Chelsea, where he is scheduled to tour the vaccination site at the La Colaborativa headquarters on Broadway. Download our mobile app for iOS or Android to get alerts for local breaking news and weather.
Baker on Wednesday said Massachusetts is expecting more than 100,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week. I can t tell you how important that is, Baker said.
Hours later, the company announced a batch of vaccine was spoiled by a manufacturing error, with media reports estimating that 15 million potential doses were lost.
Stocks for Johnson & Johnson and Emergent BioSolutions fell in early trading Thursday amid reports that around 15 million doses of J&J's COVID-19 vaccine failed quality checks after an ingredients mix-up.
Massachusetts will kick off an outreach campaign next week in the 20 highest-risk cities and towns including Fall River and New Bedford aimed at boosting access to the COVID-19 vaccine and addressing any hesitation among vulnerable populations, officials said Thursday.
A team of 200 bilingual community organizers will hold a total of 83 events across those communities, plus conduct door-to-door canvassing and phone-banking to spread awareness about the availability and value of vaccines.
Combined with grants the Baker administration will direct to local health boards in those cities and towns, officials hope to help drive up vaccination in places where rates still lag and where residents have been particularly hard-hit.