Town remains in the ‘red’ covid risk category

Only about 41 percent of residents have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine
May 1, 2021

Once again, this week Wareham remains in the state’s “red” risk category. In addition, the town continues to lag behind other communities in terms of vaccinations — among municipalities reporting data in Plymouth County, Wareham has reported the third-lowest percentage of residents who have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine.

The town saw 47 new cases of covid-19 in the past week, according to data from the state’s April 29 Weekly Public Health Report. Wareham’s average daily incidence rate increased to 35.1 cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days. Given Wareham’s population, this means there were about 8.07 new cases each day over the past two weeks.

Wareham has also seen a percent positivity rate — or the percentage of covid-19 tests performed that come back positive — of 7.39 percent over the last 14 days. 

A week ago, the state’s public health report indicated Wareham was seeing roughly 7.34 new cases each day and had a percent positivity rate of 6.81 percent.

The town has been classified “red” since April 8

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 1,666 coronavirus cases in Wareham.

Vaccines

Everyone over the age of 16 who lives, works or studies in Massachusetts is now eligible to be vaccinated against covid-19. 

Although Wareham has a covid-19 vaccine clinic, the town’s vaccination rate lags behind some other Massachusetts communities. According to the state’s April 29 data, only 40.5 percent of Wareham residents have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. That amounts to just 9,796 people.

Of the 27 municipalities in Plymouth County reporting vaccination data to the state, Wareham has reported the third-lowest percentage of individuals with at least one dose. Following Wareham’s 40.5 percent was Middleborough, which reported 39.2 percent of its population having received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine, and Brockton, which reported 38.1 percent.

Every other municipality in Plymouth County reported that at least 44 percent or more of its population had received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine.

Southcoast Health’s vaccination clinic at the Gleason Family YMCA has closed, but the healthcare nonprofit will open a new clinic at the town’s Multiservice Center on May 8. The vaccine supply is dependent on the state and could vary from week to week.

Those interested in getting vaccinated through Southcoast can now sign-up as slots are available, either through their MyChart account or at www.southcoast.org/covid-19-vaccine-scheduling/, which does not require a MyChart account.

Those eligible for the vaccine can find appointments at other providers around the state using the state’s website vaxfinder.mass.gov.

People over the age of 18 can sign up to receive any vaccine, but those age 16 and 17 can only get the Pfizer vaccine. 

Wareham’s Council on Aging staff has launched a hotline for residents who need help making a covid-19 vaccine appointment. Residents can dial 508-291-3100 Ext. 6530 from 8 a.m. until noon Monday through Friday and staff will assist with finding a mass vaccination site with openings and booking the appointment.

The state has also set up a call center for those who are eligible for the vaccine but are unable to access the vaccine appointment website or who have trouble navigating the complex online system.

From 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, people can call 211 and navigate to the vaccine help line by pressing two when prompted. The call center has workers on staff who speak English and Spanish, and there are translators available to support residents in about 100 additional languages.