BOSTON — The state’s COVID-19 vaccine website now lists available appointments for some locations, part of a new platform the Baker administration launched Friday to smooth the sometimes-challenging process of securing doses.
A new appointment-finder hub on mass.gov/covidvaccine lists all public vaccine sites across Massachusetts, searchable by location -- much like the existing website -- but will now add information on whether there are vaccination slots available and link visitors directly to the booking page.
Baker administration officials who outlined the new tool said it will eliminate an existing barrier by centralizing availability and searching in one location, rather than listing vaccine sites and requiring residents to search through multiple different separate sites to learn where appointments are still open.
They began developing the update after the launch of Phase 2 in the rollout plan, when adults 75 and older gained vaccine access. Users may search for locations near them by entering their zip code, city or town name, or the name of a vaccination location. Users may also filter results by the type of vaccination site.
All of the state-run mass vaccination sites will list their appointment openings. The data will be as current as possible, officials said, and will indicate when it was last updated.
The many other vaccine sites run by local boards of health, retail pharmacies, and health care providers will show up under searches, but they might not list appointment availability in the early days of the new site. Baker administration officials say they are working to add live appointment information for additional vaccine locations.
The new web feature, also available at vaxfinder.mass.gov, is usable on mobile devices and includes a Google Translate feature to offer automated translations into a range of languages.
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