Cape Cod Hospital Designated Regional Coronavirus Vaccine Site

HYANNIS, MA — Cape Cod Hospital was designated a regional collaborative vaccine site Wednesday, meaning it will be open to all eligible state residents beginning March 11.

Barnstable County and local town officials have operated vaccination sites at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, the Little Creek parking area in Eastham, the Barnstable County Fairgrounds and the Department of Public Works in Orleans. But regional clinics have only been able to vaccinate 975 people per week, according to county officials.

Supplies will still be limited at the hospital, and officials said mass vaccination sites like Gillette Stadium and the former Circuit City in Dartmouth will likely still be people's best bet for getting vaccinated.

State and local officials on Cape Cod have called for large vaccination sites on Cape Cod because of the difficulty created for seniors and those without cars to travel. Nearly 100 Cape Cod officials signed a Feb. 12 letter to Gov. Charlie Baker calling for a mass vaccination site at Cape Cod Community College in Barnstable. Officials also urged Baker to icnrease weekly shipments to regional clinics.

But Baker tempered expectations about a major boost in vaccinations soon. He said the state would add 50,000 new appointments by 8 a.m. Thursday, which is the same number the state has been adding each week recently.

Massachusetts has been receiving about 130,000 vaccine doses per week from the federal government. Baker pointed to two recent developments that could mean a boost in that figure in the coming weeks.

On Tuesday, Pfizer and Moderna pledged to provide about 220 million doses to the federal government by the end of March. The Food and Drug Administration also said Wednesday the Johnson and Johnson version of the vaccine is safe and effective.

"As we've said before, we can only vaccinate based on the number of vaccinations we get from the feds," Baker said.