Warren Joins Clark and Members of Massachusetts Delegation in Urging Governor Baker to Develop Centralized Vaccine Pre-Registration System
“We implore you to act with the requisite urgency to develop and implement a centralized, accessible system for all Massachusetts residents to pre-register for COVID-19 vaccinations, confirm eligibility details, and receive notification when an appointment becomes available at a convenient location.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark along with Senator Edward Markey and Representatives James P. McGovern, Lori Trahan, Jake Auchincloss, Seth Moulton, Ayanna Pressley, Stephen F. Lynch, and William Keating, sent a letter to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker expressing concern regarding the absence of a centralized vaccine pre-registration system and urged the Governor to act with the requisite urgency to develop and implement a centralized, accessible system for all Massachusetts residents to pre-register for COVID-19 vaccinations, confirm eligibility details, and receive a notification when an appointment becomes available at a convenient location.
“The pandemic and its economic fallout continue to disproportionately devastate communities of color and immigrant communities, and the emergence of more transmissible variants has only intensified the urgency around vaccine deployment,” wrote the lawmakers. “Yet nearly two months after the arrival of the first Pfizer vaccine doses, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with its prestigious health care infrastructure and wealth of technological innovation, remains at the bottom of every states’ national vaccine distribution ranking. A disjointed and cumbersome sign-up process has left seniors confused and unable to access desperately needed vaccine appointments, and the disproportionate reliance on mass vaccination sites has left appointments unfilled with large portions of our most vulnerable populations unserved.”
“We remain deeply concerned that the absence of a centralized pre-registration system for vaccine appointments has contributed to a slow and inequitable deployment of vaccines in Massachusetts, a trend that will only be exacerbated by increased demand as appointments open up to future eligibility groups,” the lawmakers continued “We therefore implore you to act with the requisite urgency to develop and implement a centralized, accessible system for all Massachusetts residents to pre-register for COVID-19 vaccinations, confirm eligibility details, and receive a notification when an appointment becomes available at a convenient location.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Senator Warren has been fighting for an equitable response to COVID-19.
- Last month, Senators Warren, Ed Markey, and Rep. Pressley sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services urging the Department to work with relevant governmental agencies to monitor and address racial, ethnic, and other demographic disparities in the national COVID-19 vaccination deployment strategy.
- In January, Senator Warren sent a letter to President Biden’s administration providing recommendations on vaccine distribution and health disparities in COVID-19.
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