AGAWAM/WEST SPRINGFIELD – The Eastfield Mall mass vaccination site opened for appointments on Jan. 27, but navigating the online procedure to secure one of the original 10,000 slots proved more than many members of Gov. Charlie Baker’s Phase 2 eligible cohort – elders 75 years of age and older – could manage.

The registration procedure required computer access to the state’s vaccination site, www.Massgov/vaccine, as well as a way to upload an image of the applicant’s current insurance card. Even though the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services quickly moved to add an additional 15.000 appointments to the Eastfield Mall site after the initial 10,000 filled within hours, the challenge of securing one of these new slots was beyond the technical skill of many eligible elders.

Locally, several senior centers have quickly jumped in to help their members – and elders who live in the towns they serve – register for COVID-19 vaccinations.

Residents of Agawam and Feeding Hills can call the Agawam Senior Center at 821-0605 where a message will prompt them  to press 7. This will take them to a recorded message where they can leave their name and phone number for assistance in registering for the vaccine. The message does ask that individuals allow up to one week for a return call from a center staff member, due to a high volume of requests.

In West Springfield, the Senior Center at 128 Park St. will shortly be acting as a vaccination clinic site for West Springfield residents only, according to a Vaccine Task Force post on Mayor Will Reichelt’s Facebook page. In the message posted on Jan. 28, Reichelt indicated that elders 75 years of age and older could begin registering for appointments at the town’s Senior Center, which will be administering the shots as the town’s vaccine supply arrives. A call to the Center, at  263-3264 found that residents 75 years of age were instructed to press 2 to leave their name, phone number and date of birth for a callback appointment scheduling. Residents age 65 and older, who will be part of the Phase 2 second cohort, can call and provide the same information by pressing 3.     

In addition to the actions taken by area senior centers to help residents register for COVID-19 vaccines, members of the state legislature have called for a streamlined registration process, and the creation of a hotline to assist those without computer access. By late  morning on Jan. 28, state Sen. Eric Lesser had filed emergency legislation requesting the Department of Public Health to create a one-stop vaccine registration website accessible from both desktop computers and mobile devices, and that it establish a 24/7 vaccine registration hotline available in multiple languages to assist elders and other  eligible residents in registering for the vaccine. The legislation was co-sponsored by Senator Anne M. Gobi (D-Spencer) and Senator Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington).

“The Phase 2 vaccine rollout is creating mass confusion and anxiety for our eligible senior population. 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. And for those with limited ability to navigate the internet, there is no access to appointment booking at all,” said Lesser in a statement received by Reminder Publishing. “As a national leader in healthcare, it is simply inexcusable that Massachusetts has fallen so far behind other states. We need to do better. I’m grateful to partner on this issue with Senator Friedman, who has tirelessly advocated for health equity during this crisis, and Senator Gobi, who sounded the alarm on this issue in her letter calling on the COVID-19 Task Force to set up a centralized sign-up system.”