Massachusetts to end COVID-19 vaccine preregistration site

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts will end its COVID-19 vaccine preregistration system at the end of May, the Baker administration announced Friday.

The state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Finder will remain available. The site lists more than 900 locations across the state to receive a shot.

Also Friday, the administration announced that beginning Monday, it is expanding the state’s homebound vaccination program to help schedule in-home vaccinations for eligible residents who are unable to get to a vaccine site.

The homebound program is primarily using Johnson & Johnson vaccines, a vaccine that only requires one visit to an individual’s home. For individuals 12-17 years old who are homebound, the program is offering Pfizer vaccines.

Over the next several days, all those still in the preregistration system will be contacted with an opportunity to book appointments before the system closes on May 31. All remaining people who have preregistered will be given an opportunity to book before the system shuts down, officials said.

Residents will still be able to track down a location to receive a COVID-19 shot using the state’s vaccine finder website.

Officials said there are thousands of appointments available across the state. The website also includes information about walk-up appointments at select locations, accessibility information, and how individuals can plan for their appointment using the MBTA trip planner tool.

Individuals can also filter by type of vaccine offered to ensure that people under 18 or their parents can search for locations that only offer the Pfizer vaccine. Those who need more help can call 211 to reach the Massachusetts Vaccine Scheduling Resource Line for assistance booking an appointment.

The state launched the preregistration system on March 12. Since then, nearly 2 million people have preregistered and nearly 600,000 appointments have been scheduled, officials said.

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VIRUS BY THE NUMBERS

The number of new daily cases of COVID-19 increased by about 400 Friday while the number of newly confirmed coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts rose by 11.

The new numbers pushed the state’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll to 17,453 since the start of the pandemic, while its confirmed caseload rose to nearly 659,000.

The true number of cases is likely higher because studies suggest some people can be infected and not feel sick.

There were about 300 people reported hospitalized Friday because of confirmed cases of COVID-19, with about 80 in intensive care units.

The average age of those hospitalized was 59. There were an estimated 11,000 people with current active cases of COVID-19 in the state.

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IMMUNIZATIONS

More than 7.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Massachusetts as of Friday.

That includes more than 4 million first doses and more than 3.1 million second doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

There have been more than 238,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered.

Nearly 3.4 million people have been fully immunized.