Massachusetts' COVID-19 vaccination phases

Below are the details of Massachusetts COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. The plan includes three phases, which reflect several priorities: protecting our most vulnerable, maintaining health care system capacity, and addressing inequities in health care access and COVID-19 burden. 

If your group is not specifically listed in either Phase 1 or Phase 2, you will be eligible to receive the vaccine in Phase 3, which we expect to launch in April. 

Learn more about the groups in each phase of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution timeline.

Steps to get your vaccination

Step 1: Check your eligibility below or use our tool

Step 2: Book an appointment 

Step 3: Prepare for your appointment

Phase 1

(December 2020 – February 2021)

Listed in order of priority:

• Clinical and non-clinical health care workers doing direct and COVID-facing care
• Long term care facilities, rest homes and assisted living facilities
• First responders 
• Congregate care settings
• Home-based health care workers
• Health care workers doing non-COVID-facing care

Phase 2

(February-March 2021)

Listed in order of priority:

• Group 1: Individuals age 75+
• Group 2: Individuals age 65+, individuals with 2+ certain medical conditions, and/or residents and staff of low income and affordable senior housing.

Not yet eligible

• Group 3: Other workers, including:

  • Early education/daycare, K-12, transit, grocery, utility, food and agriculture, restaurant and cafe workers;
  • Employees across the food, beverages, agriculture, consumer goods, retail, and foodservice sectors;
  • Meatpackers;
  • Sanitation, public works and public health workers;
  • Vaccine development workers;
  • Food pantry workers and volunteers;
  • Transit/transportation: Uber/Lyft/ride share services/pharmacy delivery drivers, airline workers, workers in the passenger ground transportation industry (e.g. paratransit for people with disabilities, food delivery, non-urgent medical transport), Massport workers other than police;
  • Convenience store workers (under grocery workers);
  • Water and wastewater utility staff
  • Court system workers (judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, clerks), other than court officers who are listed under first responders
  • Medical supply chain workers
    • Workers at manufacturers (including biotechnology companies and those companies that have shifted production to medical supplies), materials and parts suppliers, technicians, logistics and warehouse operators, printers, packagers, distributors of medical products and equipment (including third party logistics providers, and those who test and repair), personal protective equipment (PPE), isolation barriers, medical gases, pharmaceuticals (including materials used in radioactive drugs), dietary supplements, commercial health products, blood and blood products, vaccines, testing materials, laboratory supplies, cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting or sterilization supplies (including dispensers), sanitary goods, personal care products, pest control products, and tissue and paper towel products.
  • Funeral directors and funeral workers
  • Shipping port and terminal workers
• Group 4: Individuals with one certain medical condition

Phase 3

(Starting April 2021)

If your group is not specifically listed in either Phase 1 or Phase 2, you will be eligible to receive the vaccine in Phase 3, which we expect to launch in April. The vaccine is expected to be available to the general public, including:

• Higher education workers, including administrators, teaching and non-teaching staff;
• Bottled beverage industry workers;
• Veterinarians

Additional information

Please note: Additions and further clarification of the list of specific occupations and groups is paused at this time. The COVID-19 Command Center will resume listing specific groups: 1) after we have launched eligibility for individuals 65+ and individuals with 2+ certain medical conditions and 2) once additional supply of vaccine from the federal government has been significantly increased.  At that point, we will resume the review of specific groups. 

Timeframes are estimated.