COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic for First Responders to Take Place at Canton Fire Station This Week

CANTON — Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief Charles Doody and Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz are pleased to share that the Town of Canton has been selected to host a regional COVID-19 vaccination clinic for local first responders at the Canton Fire Department this week. 

The clinics, coordinated by Director Barbara Reardon and Nurse Cindy Bonner of the Canton Board of Health, will be held beginning Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the Canton Fire Department headquarters, 99 Revere St.

Approximately 65 firefighters and police officers are scheduled to receive the first dose of the Moderna vaccine over the course of the week.     

“I’d like to thank Director Barbara Reardon and Nurse Cindy Bonner for their work in securing the vaccine for Canton’s first responders and coordinating this clinic,” Chief Doody said. “Though we know this pandemic is not over, a vaccine is a promising step that will help protect our first responders who continue to work on the front lines.”

First responder vaccinations in Canton are part of a regional effort between the member communities of the Norfolk County-8 (NC-8) coalition, a regional coalition comprised of the Boards of Health and Health Departments in Canton, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Norwood, Walpole, Wellesley and Westwood. The eight communities regularly work in collaboration on multiple projects related to emergency preparedness and public health.

As part of the regional first responder vaccination effort, the towns worked together to ensure their plans would adhere to the strict guidelines for handling the vaccines and that the vaccines would be properly inventoried physically and electronically. The coalition also worked together to determine the allocation of the vaccine doses between each community.

The NC-8 regional vaccination effort will serve first responders from each of the NC-8 communities, as well as Dover and Medfield, at various clinic locations. 

Canton is one of approximately 115 locations statewide approved to distribute vaccinations as part of phase one of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan. Vaccines are not expected to be available to the general public until April, at the earliest.

• Phase one of the state’s vaccination distribution plan began in December 2020 and is estimated to continue into February. Phase one vaccinations are being provided to those in the following groups, in order of priority:
  • Clinical and non-clinical health care workers giving direct and COVID-19 facing care.
  • Long-term care facilities, rest homes, assisted living facilities.
  • First responders including police, fire and emergency medical services. This includes interfacility transport workers, MedFlight staff, college and university campus police, and 911 dispatch employees.
  • Congregate care settings, including corrections and shelters.
  • Home-based health care workers.
  • Health care workers providing non-COVID-19 facing care. This does not include those who do not come in contact with patients, however. For more information on the types of healthcare workers included in phase one, click here. 
• Phase two of the state’s vaccination distribution plan is anticipated to begin in February and continue into March. Phase two vaccinations will be provided to those in the following groups, in order of priority:
  • Individuals with two or more co-morbid conditions, who are at a high risk for COVID-19 complications. To review conditions that may put an individual at an increased risk for COVID-19 complications, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website here.
  • Professionals in the fields of early education, K-12, transit, grocery, utility, food and agriculture, sanitation, public works and public health.
  • Adults age 65-years-old and older.
  • Individuals with one co-morbid condition.
• Phase three of the state’s vaccination distribution plan is anticipated to begin in April. At this time the vaccine will become available to the general public. 
  • When phase three begins, public vaccine clinics will be listed on the CDC’s interactive website here. People will also be able to contact their primary care providers, local pharmacies and/or local health departments at this time.

For more information about the state of Massachusetts’ timeline for vaccine distribution, click here. For more information about COVID-19 vaccines in general, visit the CDC’s website here and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health website here. 

Additional information regarding the Town of Canton’s response to COVID-19 can be found here.

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