Peabody Mayor To State: Let Us Vaccinate Our Residents

PEABODY, MA — Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt slammed the state for cutting cities and towns out of Phase Two of the coronavirus vaccine rollout after he said the city was told it will only have an allotment of 100 vaccines per week for distribution "for at least the month of February."

The City Council unanimously backed Bettencourt's public request to urge the state to bring local Boards of Health into the fold in Phase Two, saying he has gone from referring to the vaccine as "hope in a box" to calling it "disappointment in a refrigerator."

"People are angry," the mayor said during Thursday night's City Council meeting. "They're frightened. They're aggravated and they're concerned about what the steps are."

Bettencourt said the city went into the final week of Phase One vaccinations last week at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School and Higgins Middle School "with the refrigerator empty."

"We had no idea if we were going to be getting the COVID vaccination at that time," he said. "We were on pins and needles worrying if it was going to come."

Bettencourt added that he was asking for more local involvement in vaccinations on behalf of Peabody, but was fairly sure he was echoing the sentiments of officials in cities and towns across the state.

"At this moment nothing matters more than getting our residents vaccinated as quickly and safely as possible," he said. "That's how we protect those most at risk for the virus. That's how we get our students back in school each day.

"To get our vaccines is the only way to get our economy going again."

Gov. Charlie Baker last week said most of the Phase Two vaccinations would be through doctor's offices, a pharmacy network and five mass vaccination sites, including the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Danvers.

But Bettencourt compared the way the city has efficiently run flu clinics, virus testing and Phase One vaccinations to the state's rollout of Phase Two that was "mired in confusion, grief, anxiety and stress among all members of our society" when those 75 years or older struggled to navigate the state's web-based registration system.

Baker last week acknowledged the "very frustrating" first two days of registration and said the state will be launching a call center for seniors to be able to reach out and get help from an actual person.

Bettencourt contended it is a city like Peabody that best knows how to reach its 15,000 residents 65 years old or older, who should be eligible to receive the vaccine this month, through its robocalls, signage, social media and local cable posts, and communication with traditional media, such as Patch.

"We have been cut out of the process," he said. "We are not looking to take over the process entirely but we can be part of the process. Enough of the confusion.

"This is a team effort. And I think we can step up and do even more if the state allows us to be part of the team."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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