Swansea, MA COVID-19 Resources and Info

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Towns of Somerset and Swansea Announce State Authorization for Future Regional Vaccine Sites

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Regional Vaccine Collaboration Between Somerset, Swansea, Fall River, Attleboro and Taunton

Somerset Town Administrator Richard Brown, Swansea Board of Selectmen Chairman Christopher R. Carreiro and Public Health Nurse for the Towns of Swansea and Somerset Emily Lachance are pleased to announce that a regional vaccination collaborative between the Towns of Somerset, Swansea, Fall River, Attleboro and Taunton has been approved by state.

“The approval of our regional vaccine clinics is a credit to the group efforts of the Somerset, Swansea, Fall River, Attleboro and Taunton communities,” Public Health Nurse Emily Lachance said. “This endeavor would not have been possible without the steadfast collaboration between each of the five communities.”

Following the approval of their proposed regional collaboration, the Towns of Somerset, Swansea, Fall River, Attleboro and Taunton will begin planning clinic logistics with the assistance of the state Department of Public Health.

The proposed clinics will be hosted five days per week with each town hosting a respective clinic on an assigned day. The Towns expect to receive 750 vaccines per day to administer at the scheduled location, but this number may vary due to limited doses.

All individuals eligible to receive a vaccine across the state will be able to make an appointment at these clinics.

“We look forward to taking the next steps in helping to move along the immunization process and providing this service to our residents and neighboring communities,” Swansea Board of Selectmen Chairman Carreiro said. “I would like to thank the state for its approval of our regional collaboration and we look forward to working alongside DPH to facilitate these clinics.”

Though the regional vaccination collaborative has been approved, the communities do not have the vaccine yet due to the current constrained supply of vaccine doses. Once the collaborative is allocated doses in the coming weeks, additional information regarding the regional clinic will be shared.

“We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to partner with our neighboring communities to offer a regional vaccination clinic for our community members and residents across the state,” Swansea Town Administrator Aronstein said. “This regional clinic will give us the bandwidth to once again vaccinate our residents in a streamlined and accessible manner.”

Added Town Administrator Brown, “Receiving the news from the state that we will once again be able to continue our work in providing COVID-19 vaccinations to our community members was a huge victory for our residents. We have worked tirelessly to secure and administer doses of the vaccine, and the soon-to-be-scheduled clinics will be the direct results of our efforts.”

Additional information regarding the regional vaccination clinic’s registration and timeline will be shared once it is available.

 

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Towns of Somerset and Swansea to Co-Host COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic for Eligible Groups This Weekend

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Swansea Town Administrator Mallory Aronstein, Somerset Town Administrator Richard Brown and Public Health Nurse for the Towns of Swansea and Somerset Emily Lachance are pleased to announce that the Towns of Somerset and Swansea will co-host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for anyone currently eligible to receive the vaccine this weekend.

The Towns of Somerset and Swansea have a limited quantity of COVID-19 doses available to distribute to those eligible as part of Phase One or seniors age 75 and older, who became eligible to receive the vaccination as part of Phase Two on Monday.

The Towns of Somerset and Swansea will host their first clinic for Somerset and Swansea residents eligible as part of Phase One or seniors age 75 and older on Saturday, Feb. 6 at Somerset-Berkley Regional High School.

Residents should note that if they are interested in signing up for any remaining slots for Saturday’s clinic, they should do so online only. All town phone lines are currently overwhelmed with calls, so anyone who calls regarding appointments may not get through. Residents may leave messages, but they may not receive a response on the same day.

The Towns of Somerset and Swansea are seeking additional vaccination allotments and will notify community members promptly if more vaccines are provided by the state for future clinics.

As more doses of the vaccine are allotted to the Towns of Somerset and Swansea, the towns will schedule additional clinic dates. All clinics are set to be held either at Somerset-Berkley Regional High School, 625 County St., Somerset, or at the Somerset Fire Department, 475 County St., Somerset. Clinic locations will be dependent on weather as clinics at the fire department will be held in a drive-thru manner while the high school clinics will be held indoors. At all clinics residents will be required to wear a mask and practice social distancing.

A second appointment for residents to receive the second dose of the vaccine will be made at their first appointments.

Residents eligible through phase one and those who became eligible for the vaccination on Monday through the state’s distribution plan may click here to view a map of vaccination clinics. All sites require an appointment.

To make an appointment at a vaccination site:

Residents who need further assistance making an appointment are asked to reach out to a family member or their town’s respective Council on Aging. Residents can contact the Town of Somerset Council on Aging at 508-646-2833 and the Town of Swansea Council on Aging at 508-676-1831.

When registering for an appointment, residents will be asked a number of pre-screening questions which will be asked again upon the time of their inoculations.

Residents should note that they will not be able to receive the vaccine if they are sick, in isolation with an active COVID-19 infection, or have been exposed to a known COVID-19 positive patient in the last 14 days as of the day of their appointment. Residents will also be ineligible to receive the vaccine if they have received any other vaccine within the past 14 days.

Residents are encouraged to check appointment sites throughout the day for open appointments. Following their registration, residents should also periodically check their email for any appointment updates.

Residents should note that while the state is creating more mass vaccination sites and though they may become eligible to receive the vaccination in the coming weeks, vaccination distribution is contingent on the number of physical vaccinations available. The Commonwealth, at this time, is prepared to distribute more vaccinations than it has.

The state has not yet announced when individuals 65-years-old and older and those with two or more comorbidities will be able to receive the vaccine. This will be announced when more information is available about additional doses of the vaccine to be provided to the state by the federal government.

The general public will not be eligible to receive the vaccine until April at the earliest. To review the full vaccination distribution timeline, click here.

For those with additional questions, please contact Public Health Nurse Lachance at elachance@town.swansea.ma.us.

 

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Towns of Swansea and Somerset Co-Host COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics for Phase 1 Individuals

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Swansea Town Administrator Mallory Aronstein, Somerset Town Administrator Richard Brown and Public Health Nurse for the Towns of Swansea and Somerset Emily Lachance are pleased to announce that the Towns of Swansea and Somerset have been successfully co-hosting COVID-19 vaccination clinics for those eligible to receive the vaccine in Phase 1 of the state’s distribution plan.

As part of Phase 1, the Towns of Swansea and Somerset began vaccinating police, fire and emergency medical services personnel on Jan. 12.

First responders received their vaccinations at a drive-through clinic at the Somerset Fire Department. The clinics, which can accommodate 300-500 patients at a time based on supply numbers, ran for three days per week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. over the past two weeks.

At the clinics, first responders received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine. They will receive the second dose within the next 28 days.

To date, 670 patients have been inoculated with the first dose of the Moderna vaccine in the Towns of Swansea and Somerset.

“We are extremely pleased to see how efficient our vaccination efforts have been so far in the Towns of Swansea and Somerset,” Public Health Nurse Lachance said. “Now that our first responders have been inoculated, we will be administering the COVID-19 vaccine to the rest of the individuals in Phase 1 of the distribution plan. We encourage anyone eligible to receive the vaccine to do so, as this will help us further battle COVID-19.”

With first responders inoculated with the first dose, the Towns of Swansea and Somerset have begun vaccinating the remaining individuals eligible to receive the vaccine in Phase 1.

The remaining phase one categories include home-based health care workers and health care workers providing non-COVID-19 facing care. This does not include those who do not come in contact with patients, however. For more information on the types of health care workers included in phase one, click here.

Residents can register for an appointment on the state’s website, but should note there is a possibility they may be turned away on the day of their appointment if they don’t meet current eligibility requirements.

Clinics’ capacities are based on the supplies provided by the state, and as such clinics will accommodate patients for the specific amount of doses provided to the Towns of Swansea and Somerset each week.

Town officials will continue to monitor the situation and share updates, such as specific dates of when the vaccine may become available to more people, as that information becomes available.

The vaccine is expected to be available to the general public in April. To view the state’s distribution timeline, please click here.

Residents can receive periodical updates to which phases the Towns of Swansea and Somerset are in and who they are currently vaccinating by visiting here. For those with additional questions, please contact Public Health Nurse Lachance at elachance@town.swansea.ma.us.

Stay Informed about the Status of COVID-19 in Towns of Swansea and Somerset

According to public health data released on Thursday, Jan. 21, the Town of Swansea’s designation remains at “Red,” indicating a “high risk” of spread in the community. The average daily incidence rate for the Town of Swansea is 104.3 per 100,000 residents, down from 109.3 the previous week.

Swansea officials report that there are currently 233 active cases of COVID-19 in the community. There have been a total of 1258 cases in Swansea since the start of the pandemic.

Additional information regarding the Town of Swansea’s response to COVID-19 can be found on the Town’s website, www.town.swansea.ma.us and on the Town’s official COVID-19 blog, swanseacovid19.com. Residents are also encouraged to follow the Town of Swansea’s Facebook page for the latest town updates.

Additionally, according to public health data released on Thursday, Jan. 21, the Town of Somerset’s designation remains at “Red,” indicating a “high risk” of spread in the community. The average daily incidence rate for the Town of Somerset is 93.7 per 100,000 residents, down from 104.9 the previous week.

Somerset officials report that there are currently 243 active cases of COVID-19 in the community. There have been a total of 1491 cases in Somerset since the start of the pandemic.

As always, Somerset residents can learn the latest about the COVID-19 situation in Somerset by visiting the town’s COVID-19 portal: https://somersetcovid19.com/

 

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