Nearly 2K Get A 'Boost' In Melrose COVID Vax Clinic

MELROSE, MA — Nearly 2,000 people got booster shots during the city's COVID-19 vaccine clinic earlier this week.

The City of Melrose hosted a booster clinic at Memorial Hall Monday. Volunteer nurses administered almost 2,000 booster shots to residents of Melrose and surrounding communities.

"Monday marked the twelfth clinic we’ve hosted at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building," Memorial Hall Executive Director Kathy Pigott-Brodeur said in a release. "The City of Melrose feels very fortunate to have this facility to assist our citizens during a time when they need our help the most."

Eighty-eight percent of eligible Melrose residents have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccination, according to last week's public health data, well above the state and national average. But Melrose has seen an uptick in breakthrough cases, which the city said has included fully vaccinated people who had not been boosted.

"I’m thrilled by the turn-out we saw during Monday’s clinic," Health Director Anthony Chui said in the release. "Vaccinations and boosters continue to be the most effective tool we have to protect residents from COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. We’ve been very fortunate to administer a total of over 6,000 vaccinations and boosters since we began hosting clinics at Memorial Hall – a number we could not have reached without all of the volunteers who have joined us in our efforts to keep everyone safe."

The city said it will look to continue expanding access to vaccines for residents of Melrose and neighboring communities.

"The City of Melrose will continue to do whatever we can to keep people safe," Mayor
Paul Brodeur said. "At the moment, providing our residents access to vaccines and boosters is the number one way to do that. Knowing that, I want to extend my deepest appreciation to every volunteer that helped out at Monday’s clinic. The Melrose and Wakefield health department, nurses, EMTs, police officers, department of public works staff, and many other volunteers, came together under one roof for a unifying cause. We will continue these efforts and working together with the local medical community to help keep our most vulnerable residents safe."