COVID-19 vaccinations for individuals with certain medical conditions

Details of certain medical conditions that make people eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Phase 2.

Eligibility

The CDC has defined the list of conditions that cause individuals to be at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Massachusetts has also identified moderate to severe asthma as an eligible medical condition.

Phase 2 groups:

• Individuals 16 and older with two or more of certain medical conditions (defined below) are in Group 2 of Phase 2. This group is now eligible to receive the vaccine.
• Individuals 16 and older with one of these certain medical conditions will be eligible to receive the vaccine effective April 5, 2021.

Phase 2 eligible conditions:

• Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Down Syndrome
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant*
• Obesity and severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher)
  • Calculate your BMI here: Adult BMI Calculator | CDC
• Pregnancy**
• Sickle cell disease
• Smoking
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Learn more from CDC: COVID-19: People with Certain Medical Conditions

*For this group, this does not include individuals who are immunocompromised due to other conditions, such as blood or bone marrow transplant or HIV

**If you are pregnant or breastfeeding and have questions around getting vaccinated, a discussion with your healthcare provider might help you make an informed decision. Learn more about vaccine safety and pregnancy.

How to schedule and prepare for your appointment

You will not need copies of medical records or a note from your doctor or health care provider to confirm you are eligible for these groups.

At this time, individuals 16 and older with two or more of certain medical conditions are eligible to receive the vaccine. Individuals age 16-17 should only receive the Pfizer vaccine at this time. Read more about vaccine safety.

Step 1: Preregister for a mass vaccination location or find a location and schedule your appointment

There are different ways to find a vaccine appointment:

• Preregister at VaccineSignUp.mass.gov to be notified when it's your turn to schedule an appointment at one of 7 mass vaccination locations: Hynes Convention Center, Gillette Stadium, Reggie Lewis Center, DoubleTree Hotel in Danvers, Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Natick Mall and former Circuit City in Dartmouth.
• Use VaxFinder.mass.gov to search for appointments at pharmacies, health care providers, and other community locations

Massachusetts’ preregistration system makes it easier to request and schedule an appointment at one of the 7 mass vaccination locations. People can preregister for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at mass vaccination locations only. More locations will be added to the system in April.

Once you sign up for preregistration, you’ll receive weekly status updates. You can opt out at any time if you find an appointment elsewhere. Once an appointment is available, you’ll be contacted with the opportunity to book the appointment and have 24 hours to accept it.

Massachusetts receives a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses from the federal government each week. Due to high demand and very limited supply, it may take several weeks to schedule an appointment or to be notified that an appointment is available at mass vaccination locations. 

Individuals without access to the internet or who are unable to schedule or preregister for their appointment online can call toll free 2-1-1 or [phone] for assistance.

Preregister for a mass vaccination location  Use VaxFinder to book at other locations  Learn more about preregistration 

Step 2: Learn how to prepare for your appointment and what you need to bring with you.

You will never be asked for a credit card number to make an appointment.

Instructions in multiple languages

Language	PDF	Word Document
English	COVID-19 Vaccine for Individuals with Two or More of Certain Health Conditions	DOC
Spanish	Vacuna contra COVID-19 en Massachusetts para personas con dos o más enfermedades específicas	DOC
Portuguese	Vacina contra a COVID-19 em Massachusetts para pessoas com duas ou mais condições de saúde determinadas	DOC
Simplified Chinese	马萨诸塞州为患有两种或更多种某些疾病的个人进行新冠病毒疫苗接种	DOC
Traditional Chinese	麻塞諸塞州為患有兩種或更多種某些疾病的個人進行新冠病毒疫苗接種	DOC
Haitian Creole	Vaksen Massachusetts COVID-19 pou Moun ki Gen 2 oswa plis nan Sèten Pwoblèm Sante	DOC
Vietnamese	Vắc-xin COVID-19 của Massachusetts dành cho Những Người mắc Hai Hoặc Nhiều Bệnh Trạng Nhất Định	DOC
Albanian	Vaksina Massachusetts COVID-19 për persona me dy ose më shumë probleme shëndetësore të konfirmuara	DOC
Arabic	لقاح مرض (COVID-19) للأفراد الذين يعانون من اثنتين أو أكثر من الحالات الصحية الكامنة في ولاية ماساتشوستس	DOC
Cape Verdean	Vassina pa COVID-19 na Massachusetts pa Pessoas ki ten Dos o Mas di Sertus Problemas di Saúdi	DOC
Russian	Вакцина против COVID-19 в штате Массачусетс для лиц с двумя или более определёнными заболеваниями	DOC

Frequently asked questions

Download: Massachusetts COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions: Individuals Ages 65 and Older and Individuals with Two or More of Certain Health Conditions PDF | DOC