12,000 new vaccine appointments in Mass. quickly fill due to high demand, limited supply

BOSTON (WHDH) – COVID-19 vaccine appointments filled up quickly at mass vaccination sites as 12,000 new first-dose slots became available across Massachusetts Thursday.

State officials announced on Twitter just before 10:45 a.m. that all appointments had been booked for next week at mass vaccination sites.

RELATED: Mass vaccination site shifting from Fenway Park to Hynes Convention Center

They encouraged people to check back next week when additional appointments become available.

“Unfortunately due to limited supply, it will take about a month for all eligible residents to secure an appointment,” Mass.gov tweeted.

First-dose appointments at Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, and the Reggie Lewis Center were fully booked by 7:10 a.m.

The demand for vaccines in the state is expected to increase as about 400,000 educators become eligible to book an appointment on March 11. They join people 65 years and older, along with those 16 years and older with two or more qualifying medical comorbidities.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday that demand is outrunning supply by a huge margin, but that he’s hopeful the new one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will help.

The state only got 58,000 doses of the new vaccine this week and those were mostly sent to hospitals and other medical care providers.

Baker’s been told the state will not be getting any more Johnson & Johnson shipments this month.

“If we get a ton of J&J in April, and Pfizer and Moderna continue to up their numbers in April and May and June, we have infrastructure to vaccinate millions of people in Massachusetts,” he said.

During a Thursday afternoon news conference, Baker noted that more than 70 percent of shots given out at mass vaccine sites next week will be second doses.

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