UMass Memorial plans to have all caregivers vaccinated by mid-February

Photo | Grant Welker UMass Memorial Medical Center's University Campus in Worcester

Write a Comment

By Grant Welker

UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest employer in Central Massachusetts, plans to have all of its health providers vaccinated against coronavirus by mid-February, a period of roughly two months.

All of the system's caregivers are expected to have at least appointments in place for vaccinations by Jan. 11, according to a memo sent to employees Friday. Those who are providing care directly to COVID-19 patients are going first, followed by those with less contact with virus patients, and then other providers.

In all, UMass Memorial Health Care plans to have all of its caregivers vaccinated by mid-February.

Each Pfizer vaccination requires two doses given three weeks apart.

The healthcare system's first caregivers received vaccinations Wednesday at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton and UMass Memorial-Marlborough Hospital. At UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, roughly 400 providers had appointments for its first vaccines on Thursday.

Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester vaccinated its first workers on Thursday.

The rollout of the first vaccines this week has made major news locally and nationally and marked a milestone in the fight against the pandemic, which has killed roughly 310,000 in the United States. Cases in Worcester County and across Massachusetts have roughly plateaued at an all-time high in the past two weeks, with a total of more than 292,000 cases.