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COVID-19 vaccinations for senior housing settings

Vaccinations for residents living in and staff working in public and private low income and affordable housing for older people

Residents and staff of public and private low income and affordable senior housing are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. There currently are two options for residents and staff of public and private low income and affordable senior housing:

  1. Residents and staff of senior affordable housing may schedule individual appointments at public vaccination locations, including mass vaccination sites, pharmacies, community health centers and health care systems. To preregister for a mass vaccination site, or to schedule an appointment at another type of site, visit mass.gov/covidvaccine. Please note, due to limited supply and high demand it may take several weeks to schedule an appointment or be notified an appointment is available at a mass vaccination site.
  2. Housing owners and operators may plan onsite and offsite vaccination clinics in partnership with a vaccination provider, such as the local Board of Health, an independent or retail pharmacy, a community health center, or a healthcare system. For more information how to plan and organize a vaccine clinic. download: Massachusetts Senior Affordable Housing COVID-19 Vaccine Information | DOC

Those housing owners who plan to organize a vaccination clinic, must complete the required Senior Affordable Housing Vaccination Planning Survey as soon as a healthcare partner has been confirmed and an approach has been identified for vaccinating residents and staff (e.g., onsite clinic, dedicated off site clinic, or directing residents and staff to pursue vaccination on an individual basis).

Please note, due to limited supply, clinics should not be publicized until the vaccine provider confirms allocation of doses.

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Table of Contents

Eligibility

Public and private low income and affordable senior housing is defined as any residential premises available for lease by older or disabled individuals which is financed or subsidized in whole or in part by state or federal housing programs established primarily to furnish housing rather than housing and personal services. Specifically, this includes the following types of age-restricted housing properties:

  • Public housing properties designated primarily for older adults that are owned/operated by Local Housing Authorities. This includes those public housing properties owned by a Housing Authority but managed by a private company. 
  • Privately owned rental properties designated for older adults that are financed in whole or part through resources made available from DHCD, MassHousing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or USDA, and in which the majority of units are restricted to residents earning less than 80% of Area Median Income.

“Residents” include those household members currently on the lease for a rental unit in public and private low income and affordable senior housing.

“Staff” includes all persons, paid or unpaid, working or volunteering at each of the qualified housing locations, who have the potential for exposure to residents or to infectious materials, contaminated environmental surfaces, or contaminated air. 

Vaccination locations

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. 

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

Resources

Webinar Recording and Resources

Other useful materials and links

Resources for Housing Properties in the Federal Pharmacy Participation Program

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Program (FPPP) to deploy vaccines to Long Term Care Facilities, including nursing homes, rest homes, assisted living residences, and continuing care retirement communities. The CDC included those properties funded through the HUD Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program. A list of facilities eligible for the FPPP can be found here.

Download: How to Prepare for your First FPPP COVID Vaccine Clinic
A webinar to help property management and resident services staff understand the FPPP program and prepare to hold a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at your property in partnership with CVS. View the webinar recording

Point of contact

For questions regarding options and resources for vaccines for senior affordable housing  – please contact: SeniorHousingVaccine@mass.gov.

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