Published February 11, 2021
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — The rollout of online registration for COVID-19 vaccination appointments for the town’s senior citizens ages 75 and older went relatively smoothly upon opening Monday morning.
The available appointment slots for the clinic held Wednesday at the Hillview Country Club function hall were filled within 30 minutes according to Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto.
“We mailed postcards to about 2,000 residents, which they received on Saturday, letting them know there was this opportunity to register for this first clinic. We are trying to let them know as quickly and effectively as we can,” he said.
“It was busy. All of the appointments were booked by about 9:30 a.m. We made folks at the Senior Center available to help anyone who needed a hand with registering,” Gilleberto said.
The Board of Health will be prepared to offer as many doses as the state will make available to them. Having an in-town option is also important for those seniors who may not feel comfortable traveling too far to obtain their vaccine.
While the in-town senior citizen van has not been operating during the pandemic, those seniors who need transportation to and from their scheduled vaccination appointment can arrange a ride by calling Mystic Valley Elder Services at 781-324-7705.
Registration for the clinics, whether in-town or at a state site, must be done online and it does take time so patience is requested by those who need to call the Senior Center at 978-664-5600 for this assistance. The town is also requesting family members, friends and neighbors to check in on residents ages 75 and older to offer them assistance with the registration process. The state has also set up a 2-1-1 call center to assist senior citizens when registering for other vaccination sites throughout the state.
Gilleberto explained that the Feb. 10 clinic was actually being held a week earlier than the Board of Health had originally planned but it was made possible due to the fact that the town had enough leftover vaccines from two previously held first responder clinics that they had a total of 70 doses to offer to the town’s seniors.
“We are trying to get them on the street as quickly as possible and also get some assurance (from MassDPH) that we can meet the need,” he said.
Future clinics will have at least 100 slots available as MassDPH has allotted 100 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine per week through the month of February.
Subsequent clinics in February will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hillview Country Club, 149 North St.
According to the Board of Health, all registration for COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be via PrepMod, a MassDPH vaccination clinic registration module.
Registration for next week’s Hillview clinics opens on Monday, Feb.15 at 9 a.m. for the Feb. 16 and Feb. 18 clinics and Monday, Feb. 22 at 9 a.m. for the Feb. 23 and Feb. 25 clinics.
Due to the limited supply of vaccines being made available to North Reading, the Health Department strongly encourages North Reading residents to register for an appointment at another clinic in Massachusetts if appointments at the Hillview clinic are unavailable.
Registration for clinics statewide may be found at www.maimmunizations.org.
The state has set up a hotline to assist adults 75 and older to make vaccination appointments at State locations. Adults 75 and older who need assistance can dial 211 from Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. State locations includes: Danvers at Double Tree Hilton Hotel, Boston at Reggie Lewis Center or Fenway Park and Foxborough at Gillette Stadium.
The Board of Health offers the following tips when registering and when arriving to your appointment:
• Open the registration link in a browser other than Internet Explorer, PrepMod does not work in Explorer. Open in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
• Have a copy of the front and back of your insurance card saved to your computer, or if you are using a device with a camera, you can take the pictures as you register. Your insurance will be billed at no cost to you.
• You do not need to be insured to receive the vaccine.
• A confirmation email comes from a no-reply address. Be sure to check your spam folder
Preparing for the day of your appointment:
• Ensure that you have a scheduled appointment.
• Arrive no earlier than five minutes before your scheduled appointment.
• Bring an ID with your name, if you have one, to verify your name in the vaccination system.
• Facial covering required when entering the clinic for your appointment.
• Ensure proper social distancing requirements.
• Please make sure you allow enough time to be monitored for 15 to 30 minutes after your vaccination.
The Board of Health has set up a new Facebook page called The Healthy Hornet (@healthyhornet) for the dissemination of information from the North Reading Board of Health.
The page is not routinely monitored for comments. It will include useful information and additional links for resources on COVID and other topics of interest.
Information is also posted at the Health Department’s website at: https://www.northreadingma.gov/health-department.
