Senator Jehlen Email Newsletter: "... administration's vaccination rollout plan and information about it change frequently.

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Dear Neighbor, The administration's vaccination rollout plan and information about it change frequently.  Here are some tips for those who are currently eligible.  Next newsletter will be about which groups are in line, with comments on how priorities have been set. Search for appointments I'm told the state website has been refreshed.  It still doesn't work well.  I searched for locations within 10 miles of 02143, and got: Somerset, Foxboro, Pittsfield, Great Barrington...  Another state version also has problems but at least lets you find locations that are closer. But this site is the best: Olivia Adams is on maternity leave from her job as a software engineer.  Working alone, in a couple of weeks, she created a website which works much better to find sites, showing which ones have how many appointments available on each day.  You can read about this on Patch or the Globe, or watch NBC's report.  And you can share her Facebook post.  Far easier than either state website or the phone center! The state launched a phone center this week.  You can call 211, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm.  I'm happy to say I got through to an operator in 10 minutes.  But, as they remind you multiple times as you wait, they "do NOT have easier access to appointments; they will be using the same website as any other individual wanting to register (MAimmunizations.org). Due to the high demand for vaccines, it may take several weeks to secure an appointment. If no appointments are available, residents ages 75 and older will have the option to be added to a call back list for mass vaccination sites." Despite that note, there are some appointments available starting later this week at the mass vaccination sites, if you able to get there. If your problem is that you need assistance in negotiating the websites, Somerville people over 75 can get help by calling the Council on Aging at 311 or 617-666-3311.  Somerville also has vaccine information lines in 5 languages.  Medford folks who need help figuring out the website: If you are a resident of a Medford Housing Authority Building, please call 781-396-7200 and ask to leave a message with Lisa Tonello or Barbara Fleming. If you are a Medford resident age 75 or older, you can call the Council on Aging at 781-396-6010, OR, you can call the West Medford Community Center at 781-483-3042 Free Rides Somerville and Cambridge residents over 75 can get free roundtrip rides to vaccination appointments by calling Somerville Cambridge Elder Services at 617-628-2601 or email info@eldercare.org.  Medford residents over 75 can get free rides to vaccination appointments from Mystic Valley Elder Services by calling (781) 324-7705.  Both agencies will serve younger seniors when they become eligible. What you said Over 50 people responded to my last newsletter about vaccination frustration, .  Almost all were frustrated and many wrote in detail about  their experiences  Here are just a few of the printable comments: "I spent hours online trying to secure an appointment for my elderly mother only to have it cancelled without warning." "I've spent over 21 hrs in the different on line sites only to be met with nothing.  I just keep going from site to site answering similar questions and filling in similar information to be told there is nothing available.  At one point there WERE TWO OF US TRYING AND MEETING WITH THE SAME TIME CONSUMING RESULTS." "I spent 15 years working in both software user interface design and call center management. The website was among the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever seen." "🤬🥶🤯"   Hot Tips: what worked for some people Other people were successful, though very few got appointment from the state sites. Seven people reported getting an email from Beth Israel Lahey Health, offering appointments.  These appointments are not available through the state site.  One person complained that the BILH site in Cambridge is right across Mass. Ave from a senior building with at least 35 residents over 75, who weren't told about it. BILH warned one person that it might be weeks before their appointment, but they would get an email with appointments become available so they don't have to keep logging in.  (That won't work for most of us.) "I had to drive to Maine to get my first shot today  Did so because the sign up was easy and I own a house there."  (Again, that won't work for most of us.) One person happened to be looking at the Fenway site when the number of appointments available changed from "0" to "1."  She snagged it.  (Very lucky!) Staff at Cambridge Health Alliance got emails offering appointments for "friends and family." A neighbor made an appointment for her 85 year old mother in Framingham, as reported in the  Herald.  When they got there, they were asked "Didn't you get the cancellation?"  They didn't.  The clinic was only for Framingham residents, but they were allowed to wait and the mother got vaccinated as an accommodation.  But, although you're supposed to return to the same site, they can't, and they don't know how to figure out which sites offer Moderna. Coming Soon Most communities are now receiving 100 doses a week and will decide how to dispense them to residents who qualify by age or being in Phase 1.  Medford and Winchester are part of the Mystic Valley Health Coalition which will create clinics open to eligible residents of Medford, Winchester, Malden, Melrose, and Stoneham.  Somerville announced on Friday that there'll be a clinic on Wednesday; call 311 or 617-666-3311.  They probably got snapped up; I wasn't able to get through on Friday and the mailbox was full. You can check for updates in Medford and Winchester.  You can sign up for email updates in Cambridge and Somerville.  If by chance you live in Wayland, you can sign up for a waitlist (just like in Texas...). Stay safe and stay in touch,