GREATER SPRINGFIELD – At 105 years old, Thelma Brewster is the oldest resident at Glenmeadow, a life plan community in Longmeadow. She was the first person at the facility to receive the coronavirus vaccine on Jan. 23.

Glenmeadow partnered with CVS to administer the shots. The majority of residents at Glenmeadow received their first dose of the vaccine that day. At the next session, on Feb. 13, those people will receive their second dose and staff will receive their first shots. Second shots will be administered to staff on March 16, Linda Edwards, vice president of Marketing and Strategic Initiatives at Glenmeadow, said.

Massachusetts has been inoculating residents and staff of senior care facilities and congregate housing as part of phase 1 of the coronavirus vaccination rollout, but on Feb. 1, phase 2 began with eligibility extended to the wider population of those 75 years or older. They will be followed by those 65 or older and those with two or more comorbidities – health issues that put people in greater danger of complications from COVID-19. After that, phase 2 makes certain essential workers eligible, followed by individuals with one co-morbid condition.

Municipal officials are finding that there is a great deal of confusion due to communication issues with the state and logistical struggles.

“We’re waiting for DPH [Department of Public Health] approval to get more vaccine,” East Longmeadow Town Manager Mary McNally told Reminder Publishing. On the question of how many people will be able to be vaccinated and how quickly, McNally said, “Everybody wants it immediately. It’s not a unilateral decision. We have to go by the [state] rules.”

Locations for vaccine clinics are also a concern. St Michael’s Hall hosted the recent first responder clinic conducted as part of phase 1. Council on Aging Director Mary Beth Dowd said that the Pleasant View Senior Center will be hosting a clinic for those 75 and older. The center is referring everyone under 75 to the Easetfield Mall vaccine site that was opened on Jan. 29.

“We’re just focused on getting the vaccine into the arms of those who want it,” McNally said. “We were thinking that we need 8,000 doses,” for the whole town.

In Wilbraham, Public Health Nurse Jill Consolino said that while the town did not have any definitive plans for administering the vaccine, “We’re looking to do a joint venture with Hampden.” She said roughly 40 percent of Wilbraham – 5,000 to 6,000 people – are eligible in phase 2.

Consolino estimated that more than 50 percent of staff at Wilbraham’s three eldercare facilities – Life Care Center of Wilbraham, Orchard Valley at Wilbraham and Vero Health and Rehab – have received their first doses. While the flu vaccine is mandated for health care workers in Massachusetts, the coronavirus vaccine is not. Consolino theorized that it eventually will be mandated once the legislation catches up to the science.

“I was lucky enough to receive mine during the first responder clinic in East Longmeadow,” Consolino shared.

Another issue in the vaccine rollout is the confusion many people have about how to sign up for the shot and where to go to get it.            For now, information on vaccine sites and schedules can be found at https://www.mass.gov/covid-19-vaccine, but on Jan. 28, state Sen. Eric P. Lesser filed An Act streamlining COVID-19 vaccination sign-up in Massachusetts with two other state senators.

The legislation is designed to create a one-stop website, run through the Department of Public Health (DPH), where people can sign-up for COVID-19 vaccinations. The law also provides a 24/7  phone hotline available in multiple languages.

“The Phase 2 vaccine rollout is creating mass confusion and anxiety for our eligible senior population,” said Lesser in a press release. “The system is cumbersome, contradictory, and asks residents over 75 to navigate a haze of web links, locations, and instructions, each with different criteria and scheduling systems.”

As of press time, 26 state senators had signed onto the bill.

In the meantime, Jane Budynkiwicz, administrative assistant for the Hampden Board of Health,  encouraged people with questions to call their local boards of health.

“I want [residents] to know that they’re safe.  It’s going to be okay. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s getting brighter.”