Boston to vaccinate veterans this Saturday

Colin A. Young

This Saturday, Boston veterans who are 65 years old or older and enrolled in VA Health Care will be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine at the VFW post at 500 Morton St., Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced Wednesday.

The one-day clinic will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will vaccinate veterans and qualifying caregivers on a first-come, first-served basis. The people vaccinated during the single-day clinic will also be scheduled to get the second dose of their COVID-19 vaccine on March 13, Walsh said. By the end of this week, Boston will have COVID-19 vaccines available at eight pharmacy locations, mass vaccination sites at Fenway Park and the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, and at multiple community health centers.

“We need to increase vaccine access … in the communities that have been the hardest hit by COVID-19 and the economic fallout. We need to make sure that the people of color have access to the vaccine and we need to make sure that low-income and immigrant communities have access to the vaccine as well,” Walsh said.

Last week, 20 percent of the available appointments at the Reggie Lewis Center mass vaccination site were held aside “for outreach to organizations serving communities of color and vulnerable populations,” the mayor said. For this week and next, the percentage of appointments held aside has been increased to 40 percent. “Making sure residents who need to get access can get it is key to ensuring we have an equitable distribution of the vaccine, so we want to make sure we’re getting the vaccine into every neighborhood in the city of Boston,” Walsh said.