Seacoast COVID-19 Vaccine Timeline: When, How To Get Vaccinated
As COVID-19 vaccination efforts continue across the United States, many continue to ponder several key questions. Among them: When is my turn in line and how will I be notified?
In New Hampshire, ongoing Phase 1B vaccination efforts have been modified to anyone 65 or older as well as medically vulnerable individuals, at-risk caregivers, IDD facility staff, and corrections officers and staff, according to the state. Phase 1B is expected to last through March.
Afterward, Phase 2A is anticipated to begin sometime in March. This will include K-12 school and childcare staff, as well as anyone else in the previous groups that had not yet been vaccinated. Phase 2B will expand to anyone 50 or older and is expected to be completed by May.
Phase 3A is expected to kick off sometime in May and will include any medically vulnerable individuals or persons at moderate risk. Phase 3B, the final phase, will feature anyone else who had not already qualified for vaccination.
New Hampshirites can use the Vaccine Phase Check tool to see their place in line.
Maine's timeline is similar, but Phase 1B is not expected to start until February. That will include people 75 or older as well as at-risk individuals and some essential workers, the rest of which will be vaccinated in Phase 1C from May through June, the state said. All others are scheduled to be vaccinated after June. Maine encourages its residents to contact their health-care providers for information on how to get vaccinated.
In Massachusetts, Phase 2 is expected to begin in February and will include persons with two factors of risk for COVID-19, those 75 or older, early education and K-12 workers and some other essential workers all in order of priority, according to the state's website. The state expects Phase 3 to include the entire public and is expected to start in April. Current vaccination sites in Massachusetts can be found here.
What they're saying
Of course, vaccine timelines are subject to change given the unpredictability of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Here's what various Seacoast-area hospitals are saying about vaccination efforts:
When asked about the expected vaccine rollout at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, one spokesperson had encouraging news to share.
“I wish I had more information to provide, but the state of NH is establishing the timing of the phased rollout," they told Seacoast Current in January. "The state is currently in Phase 1A of its COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. For WDH, that means we are vaccinating our most at-risk frontline healthcare workers. We will be offering the COVID-19 vaccination to our patients, but we do not have a detailed timeframe available yet. We hope to have more information to share soon!”
York Hospital had similar news to report.
“York Hospital does not have any further details available, aside from our ongoing participation in weekly calls with Maine CDC focused on the COVID-19 vaccine, these calls ensure that we remain prepared for additional vaccine supply, as well as stay informed on their recommended rollout, beyond our caregivers in Phase 1A of the Maine COVID-19 Vaccination Plan,” a spokesperson for the hospital said.
When Seacoast Current reached out to one hospital located in Newburyport, the spokesperson redirected us back to online resources that describe Phase 1 eligibility as long-term residents of nursing homes or assisted living centers, health care workers, first responders, health-care workers and home-based health care workers.
Here are some tips for self-care during the pandemic:
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