On Thursday, the city of Chelsea is set to open its own coronavirus vaccination center at the headquarters of the Chelsea Collaborative.
The East Boston Neighborhood Health Center will operate the new vaccination site. Appointments can be made online and over the phone starting Tuesday morning. The center will initially be limiting access to Chelsea residents only, starting with those 75 years and older.
The location of the center is in the recently rebuilt headquarters of the Chelsea Collaborative, a nonprofit community organization located at 318 Broadway in Chelsea.
According to Gladys Vega, executive director for the Collaborative, the headquarters were in desperate need of repair after the organization turned its offices into a food pantry in the spring. She says a city painters and carpenters union updated the space pro bono.
"At the peak of the pandemic, we fed our community," Vega said. "And then, almost a year after, we're giving the vaccinations in order for us to begin to see the end of this pandemic. That way, we can begin to have a normal life and our community members can be cured."
Vega said she and Collaborative staff have been strongly advocating for a vaccination center in Chelsea, where roughly 80% of residents are service workers.
We also heard from Dr. Richard Ellison, an infectious disease specialist at UMass Memorial Health Care, about the coronavirus variants making headlines and what they mean for vaccines on the market right now.
Click on the audio player above to listen to the full episode.
Segments:
Gladys Vega - 2:38
Dr. Richard Ellison - 18:40
