Arlington Health Director Frustrated By State Vaccine Rollout

ARLINGTON, MA — The success of Arlington's vaccine plan has been stymied as the state slows its vaccine rollout at a local level, Health Director Christine Bongiorno said Thursday. Arlington, along with other local health departments across the state, is only being allotted 100 vaccine doses a week.

"We're extremely frustrated and quite upset that we're not receiving the number of vaccines necessary to cover our population," Bongiorno said. "We do understand there is a supply chain issue."

Arlington has distributed about 1,200 first doses to first responders and plans to start administering second doses next week. Residents of the town's three senior facilities have been vaccinated as well.

But the state has made it clear local boards of health will not be a major source for vaccinations in the near future and is looking to push people toward mass vaccination sites at Fenway, Gillette, Worcester State and in Danvers, Bongiorno said.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 case counts in Arlington remain "somewhat steady," according to the latest update from the town. The number of cases has surpassed 1,400 since the start of the pandemic, and there have been 73 deaths in total. Five of those deaths have come since the start of the new year.

Arlington continues to be labeled a moderate-risk community by the state. Officials urge residents to remain vigilant.

"We're still seeing a lot of complete households in our data," Bongiorno said, which still puts older residents at risk.