The Natick Mall. Photo courtesy of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism / CC BY-ND 2.0
Two more coronavirus mass vaccination sites are opening in Massachusetts this week, including one Monday at a now-closed Sears store at the Natick Mall.
The Natick location is expected to administer about 500 shots per day at first, with the capacity to boost that to 3,000 doses per day once the supply is available, state health officials said in a statement. Terms of the deal between Natick Mall landlord Brookfield Properties and the state were not immediately available.
Another site is opening Wednesday at the former Circuit City in Dartmouth. That site will also begin by giving out 500 shots a day before ramping up to about 2,000 per day.
Only those eligible under state guidelines are allowed to sign up for an appointment, according to the state Department of Public Health, including residents age 65 and older with those with two or more medical conditions that put them at high risk for COVID-19.
The state already has mass vaccination sites at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Fenway Park in Boston, the DoubleTree Hotel in Danvers, and the Eastfield Mall in Springfield. Hospitals and retail pharmacies are also offering shots.
As of Sunday, almost 15 percent of Massachusetts residents had received at least their first dose of a vaccine and 5.6 percent had been fully vaccinated, according to the state’s COVID Command Center.
