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Date: 1/5/2022
SOUTHAMPTON – The town of Southampton is planning to host a family vaccine clinic on Jan. 8, according to town Health Director Geraldine Swanson.
“It’s going to be very important that we have contact tracing resources available with the continuing escalating number of [COVID-19] cases in town,” said Kaitlyn Swistak-Rooks, the chair of the Southampton Board of Health, during a Dec. 21 Select Board meeting.
As of Dec. 23, Southampton had a case count of 65 over a two-week span, according to COVID-19 data provided by Mass.gov. Cases did drop off a little as of the meeting time, but the Southampton Board of Health anticipated a rise in cases once again due to the holiday season.
The Jan. 8 clinic will be open to the public, and both the COVID-19 vaccines – including Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, as well as the booster shot, will be available.
The clinic will occur from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the cafeteria at William E. Norris Elementary on 34 Pomeroy Rd., and pre-registration will be required. Children ages 5 to 11 will be able to receive the vaccine between 10 and 11 a.m., while residents ages 12 and up will be eligible to receive the desired dose of vaccine between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
People are being asked to bring their vaccine card, and while the vaccine itself is free and health insurance is not required, health insurance will pay administrative costs to help subsidize the vaccine program.
Children 5 to 11 will be eligible to receive the pediatric dose of Pfizer, and the second dose will be administered on Jan. 29. Ages 12 to 17, meanwhile, can register for either first or second dose of Pfizer.
Ages 16 and up will be allowed to receive the booster shot if they have completed their primary vaccination series six months prior for Pfizer and Moderna, and at least two months prior to receiving the one Johnson & Johnson dose.
During the Dec. 21 meeting, Swistak-Rooks said that it was important to come up with more localized vaccine clinics since the statewide vaccine bus has been virtually nonresponsive after hosting clinics at William E. Norris before. The state bus arrived with an insufficient number of doses during a prior clinic, as well.
“By hosting vaccine clinics locally, we will have a little bit more control, and these are people we work with regularly to try and coordinate clinics,” said Swistak-Rooks, adding that 180 to 200 doses of vaccine doses will likely be handed out.
The Select Board also approved ARPA funds for contact tracing through June since the statewide collaborative finished up on Dec. 31.