MA to close Preregistration System, expand Homebound Vaccination Program | May 24, 2021

The Baker-Polito Administration announced plans on Friday to close the Commonwealth’s vaccine preregistration system by the end of May. The COVID-19 Vaccine Finder at vaxfinder.mass.gov will remain available, with over 900 locations listed across the state.

The Administration also announced the expansion of the state’s Homebound Vaccination Program to support in-home vaccinations for all eligible residents who are unable to get to a vaccine site, beginning Monday, May 24.

Preregistration System

The preregistration form at vaccinesignup.mass.gov will be closed to new submissions on Tuesday, May 25. Over the next several days, all remaining people still in the system will be contacted with an opportunity to book appointments before closing out the system on May 31. All remaining people who preregistered will be given an opportunity to book before the system closes.

The Commonwealth’s COVID-19 Vaccine Finder at vaxfinder.mass.gov will remain available. There are over 900 locations available with thousands of appointments in every region of Massachusetts. Users can also find information about no wait, walk-up appointments at select locations, accessibility information, and can plan for their appointment using the MBTA trip planner tool. Users 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. Users can also call 211 to access the Massachusetts Vaccine Scheduling Resource Line for help booking an appointment.

Massachusetts remains a national leader in vaccinations, ranking #1 in the country for first doses and total doses per capita among states with more than 5 million people, and #2 in these categories among all states. The Commonwealth is focusing on a targeted, community-based approach to reach residents who have not yet received a first dose. There are over 900 locations across the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth launched the preregistration system on March 12 in partnership with the Google Cloud Team. Since then, nearly 2 million people have preregistered and nearly 600,000 appointments have been scheduled. Many residents preregistered to ensure they would have access to an appointment, but continued to search elsewhere and in many cases opted out of the system after they found an appointment elsewhere. People who preregistered were contacted via email, text messages, and/or robocalls with the opportunity to book appointments.

The Administration has continuously improved the system, adding locations and introducing options for people to choose their vaccination location and edit their submission. Today, people are given the option to choose from among 23 mass vaccination and regional collaborative locations when they are contacted to book an appointment through the preregistration system.

Homebound Vaccination Program

Beginning Monday, May 24, the Administration will expand the state’s Homebound Vaccination Program to support in-home vaccinations for all eligible residents who are unable to get to a vaccine site. This expansion will support continued vaccination of hard-to-reach populations and supports the Administration’s goal to make COVID-19 vaccines readily available.

The Administration launched the Homebound Vaccination on March 29 for individuals who met specific federal criteria, such has requiring significant supports to leave the home for a medical appointment. Beginning May 24, any individual who has trouble getting to a vaccine site is eligible for the homebound program.

Individuals can call (833) 983-0485 to register for an in-home vaccination. The registration phone line is open Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM and has representatives who speak English and Spanish, as well as translation services available in 100+ languages.

After registering, individuals will be called within five business days by the state’s Homebound Vaccine Provider, Commonwealth Care Alliance, to schedule an appointment. It may take some time to get an appointment, and the quickest way to get vaccinated remains to schedule an appointment at a vaccination site by visiting VaxFinder.mass.gov.

The Homebound Program is primarily using Johnson & Johnson vaccines, a safe and effective vaccine that only requires one visit to an individual’s home. For individuals 12-17 years old who are homebound and would need significant support to leave the home to get to a medical appointment, the Homebound Program is offering Pfizer vaccines. Homebound youth are encouraged to register for the Homebound Program by Friday, May 28 to ensure that an in-home vaccination can be scheduled during the month of June.

More information on the Homebound
Vaccination Program here.

The above press release is courtesy of Gov. Charlie Baker’s office.