New Bedford to Open Vaccination Center for Seafood Workers
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, joined by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congressman Bill Keating, and members of the New Bedford City Council and state legislative delegation, announced Wednesday that the City of New Bedford has established a waterfront vaccination center on Tichon Avenue to vaccinate essential seafood industry workers.
The site is located at the former Environmental Protection Agency Dewatering Facility on the waterfront, recently turned over to the New Bedford Port Authority by the EPA. It will launch in the coming weeks with additional vaccine supply and through a partnership with the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center.
The waterfront vaccination center will be operated as a partnership between the City and the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center which will staff the vaccination site. The Greater New Bedford Community Health Center recently received an award of nearly $4 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration as part of the American Rescue Plan to support its work, including direct receipt of vaccine, which makes possible the operation of this site.
“New Bedford’s essential seafood processing workforce plays a vital role in feeding the United States and distributing seafood from America’s top commercial fishing port. It is critical that we continue to do everything we can to keep essential workers safe and support the equitable distribution of vaccines,” Mayor Mitchell said. “I am grateful to Senator Warren, Senator Markey, and Congressman Keating for their advocacy in securing these critical funds for New Bedford, which the Community Health Center, under the leadership of Cheryl Bartlett, will use to protect our residents and our essential workers.”
The site is expected to open in early April and to handle at least 125 vaccinations per hour, with the ability to vaccinate up to 800 to 1,000 people per day. Further details about hours of operation and signup steps will be announced ahead of the center’s opening in collaboration with the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center. Through coordination with employers, essential seafood industry workers will be scheduled for their COVID-19 vaccinations at the site. It is located on the New Bedford waterfront in close proximity to many of the city’s seafood processing facilities.
Information from the Office of Mayor Jon Mitchell
LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions
While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.
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