SALEM — The North Shore communities of Salem, Swampscott, Marblehead, Beverly and Danvers have announced an expanded schedule for their vaccination site located at Salem State University’s South Campus.
Appointments will become available for scheduling starting at noon every Saturday for the following week’s clinic dates for those eligible to receive a vaccine in the five communities included in the initiative. Appointments can be made online at www.salem.com/vaccine under the option for Salem State University’s South Campus.
The clinic site is in the gym in the Harrington Building at Salem State, located at 99 Harrison Road.
That location began serving eligible North Shore residents who were part of the first group of Phase 2 of the state’s vaccination rollout plan on Feb. 5. That eligibility applied to residents aged 75 and older and for any caregivers accompanying a resident who fell under that age group.
It was the first vaccine clinic in Salem that became available to residents in that age group.
The South Campus clinic is working with Cataldo Ambulance to administer doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The number of clinic days and appointments made available will vary depending on how many doses of the vaccine the location receives each week. Those options will be updated on the website and made available to the public.
“If you do not get an appointment for this week, do not despair. We will have more openings next week,” said Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll.
Appointments are on a first-come, first-served basis, and residents are encouraged to not schedule more than one appointment. There are currently appointments available for this week on Tuesday and Thursday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The city plans to add additional clinic days to the Salem State site as the state rolls out the next groups and phases. According to the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination plan, Phase 2, Group 2, which includes individuals 65 and older and people with two medical conditions that declare them at-risk, will gain access to the vaccine in March, followed by individuals in Phase 2, Group 3, which includes educators, public health employees, funeral personnel, and grocery and retail workers.
The third and final phase, which is scheduled to begin in April, will allow the general public to receive vaccinations.
The community vaccination clinic on the South Campus is strictly for the external community and is entirely separate from Salem State’s campus clinic for students, faculty and staff.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected].