A sign announcing free COVID-19 vaccines at Shaw s in Falmouth.
The vaccination effort aimed at stopping the COVID-19 pandemic has reached a turning point, as demand for vaccines slows and most clinics have begun offering them on a walk-in basis.
All members of Cape Cod’s vaccine consortium, which includes Cape Cod Healthcare, community health centers, and Barnstable County, now allow people to get the vaccine without an appointment, according to state Sen. Julian Cyr.
Retail pharmacies that offer the vaccine are beginning to take walk-ins as well.
“This is pretty good news,” Cyr said. “This is going to help further maximum participation.”
Cape Cod is touting itself as a safe destination for summer fun Share Updated: 11:42 AM EDT Apr 29, 2021 By Chris Lisinski/State House News Service . SOURCE: . Share Updated: 11:42 AM EDT Apr 29, 2021 By Chris Lisinski/State House News Service Describing the region s public health outlook as excellent, Cape Cod officials are optimistic that high vaccination rates and low case numbers will contribute to a robust summer tourism season.The Cape Cod COVID-19 Response Task Force set a goal to have three-quarters of the area population at least partially vaccinated by Memorial Day, Sen. Julian Cyr said during the task force s Thursday conference call with reporters.In the Department of Public Health s April 22 report, 59 percent of Cape Codders had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 41 percent were fully vaccinated, Cyr said. That leaves another 16 percent of the population that local off
And in Sandwich, a schoolteacher developed COVID-19 after receiving one shot, according to town officials.
The Cape Cod Healthcare employees had mild symptoms or were asymptomatic, said Dr. Kevin Mulroy, senior vice president and chief quality officer of Cape Cod Healthcare.
“None of them have been seriously ill,” he said during an interview last week.
Health officials said vaccine “breakthroughs” are to be expected, since none of the COVID-19 vaccines are 100% effective.
“That likelihood exists. We’ve known it all along,” said Vaira Harik, interim director of the Barnstable County Department of Human Services.
While the number of post-vaccination COVID-19 infections that have been detected so far are exceedingly small, their existence points to the need to maintain safety protocols and community mitigation efforts, Harik said during a Thursday morning briefing by the Cape Cod COVID-19 Response Task Force.
Cape COVID Memorial Planned For May capenews.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from capenews.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Despite a recent third wave of COVID-19 cases, tourists are gearing up to hit Cape Cod beaches this coming summer.
Officials said hotels are already filling up for summer vacations and local businesses are scrambling to hire staff before then.
With the influx in tourism on the horizon, officials are also working to vaccinate as many residents as possible. This includes nearly all homebound residents being vaccinated through their local boards of health and councils on aging.
Speeding up vaccinations is timely, as contagious variants of the virus are spreading quickly in the county. Cape Cod is a state hot spot for a variant first discovered in Brazil.