After ‘ridiculous’ lines of frost at the COVID super vaccination site in Springfield, changes are underway

“The situation at the mall was ridiculous,” said Carolyn Webber, who came with her 95-year-old mother for the shot on Monday. “We arrived with an appointment for 11 am. We were outside for over an hour, then inside for another hour. Mom received her vaccination at 1 pm ”

Webber told MassLive it was only because of the kindness of a stranger that she and her elderly mother, Mary Burney, were able to return to their car to warm up while he kept their seats in line. at the Eastfield Mall super vaccination site in Springfield.

“I arrived with my mother, absolutely unprepared for the situation. We were stuck, I couldn’t leave my mom alone in the car in 20 degrees, and she couldn’t stand for an hour in the line outside, ”recalls Webber.

“There is no reason for individuals to stand out in the cold or not to distance themselves socially,” said Maranda Gottlieb, vice president of marketing at Curative. “They can sit in their car until it is time for their vaccination, where they can then be received inside and vaccinated.”

One of the problems of sitting in their car while waiting for a date is rushing to the main doors in snow and ice. As the 81-year-old, who only wanted to be known as Joe, told MassLive on Monday, if they go to warm up in their car, they will not only lose their places, but will have to rush through the snow and the snow. ice cream when a member of the healing staff calls their appointment time.

The Eastfield Mall site, operated by private health care company Curative, opens at 9 a.m. and is one of many mass vaccination sites across the state. The Boston Road site opened on January 29 and is the only super vaccination site in western Massachusetts. On February 1, the mall opened for those 75 and over.

Since the shopping center opened under Curative, site staff have administered 7,059 doses of the vaccine on Tuesday. The site currently has a total of 45 people working in the mall, including 25 nurses.

Curative also told MassLive that they will look to hire 21 more staff over the next four days and continue to hire for the next two weeks. Starting Tuesday, they are administering 2,000 doses per day and hope to increase to 5,000 in the coming weeks.

“Curative operates the site inside the mall and the policeman and several people were communicating with patients lined up outside the doors,” Gottlieb said. “So many people – curatives and others, including the security guard – have contacted patients to ask them to wait in their car up to 15 minutes before their appointment, as this creates a problem with the waiting line.

As of Monday morning, there didn’t appear to be any markers placed to promote social distancing and there only appeared to be one ‘welcome’ outside to lead hundreds of people. In addition, the mayor’s office clarified that the role of the Springfield Police Department at the site is not to lead people but to provide security.

Webber was one of many who spoke to MassLive on Monday and said they haven’t spoken to any of the healing staff. Additionally, the staff on site appeared to be unsure of who should oversee the lines and ensure that social distancing guidelines were followed.

David Thompson, property manager at Eastfield Mall, told MassLive he had been told by Curative that they would be monitoring those there lines for vaccinations.

Gottlieb agrees that the cold outdoors is not a suitable staging area and said the way the site was designed indoors did not take into account the numbers that were arriving for their vaccination.

“We run several vaccination sites across the country,” Gottlieb said. “It’s really critical that people arrive within their allotted time to ensure that we have the right throughput and that we are able to handle that number of people.”

She explained that people who arrived early were greeted and vaccinated before their reservation, not wanting to send anyone away.

Whatever the cause, a significant backlog was evident this week. The results of this could be seen by the long lines outside on Monday.

“It’s brutal. I went up there. It was cold yesterday, but they waited because they want this vaccine, ”State Representative Bud Williams said. “We have to find a better way to get them in.”

Williams, a Democrat from Springfield, said access has been a concern for Springfield residents since the vaccine rollout began. The line of people waiting outside in the cold was the latest example.

Hearing the long lines outside the mall on Monday, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno spoke with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and curative site director Dean Shultis to resolve the issue. .

Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood and the mayor also sent additional police cars to the mall on Tuesday to make sure the elderly are not left outside.

After hearing reports of older residents waiting outside in sub-zero temperatures on Monday, the state deployed 10 National Guard medical personnel to help administer the vaccination, to the observation and patient flow under the direction of the state immunization command center.

“I’m not about to point fingers,” Sarno told MassLive on Tuesday. “I’m about to fix the problem.”

The Mayor of Springfield sees smaller vaccination sites providing an answer to problems at the Eastfield Mall. He noted that his administration has unfortunately had to deal with many disasters and believes that the ability to operate smaller sites would be of huge benefit to many people in the city.

“[Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris] and I would like to once again see the vaccine count continue to increase compared to the federal level, ”Sarno said. “We would like to get our own amount for target populations and city neighborhoods. But I can’t do anything until we get something in hand.

Tuesday saw a much smoother operation, in part thanks to the Eastfield Mall property manager giving those waiting to be vaccinated a warm space to wait until called for their date.

Thompson told Masslive that after seeing the people waiting outside on Monday and especially the over 75 age group, he called Curative Tuesday morning and asked them if they wanted to use the other section of the shopping center near the vaccine entrance.

Due to the issues seen at the site, the Massachusetts Vaccine Command Center will closely monitor operations at the Eastfield Mall vaccination site and assist with staffing as needed.

Sarno added that Curative will also be subject to a review of its systems approach to contacting and informing seniors about their appointments.

Outside Eastfield Mall at 5 p.m. Tuesday, there were no longer long lines in the cold, no old people shaking outside. The problems encountered the previous days seem to have been resolved.

For some, however, the experience was traumatic not only for themselves, but also for their older parents.

“If we had been aware of this situation we would not have gone to the Eastfield Mall,” Webber said of Monday’s experience.

She added that once inside, people were “pleasant, understanding and helpful”.

“We believe the people in charge of the operation are responsible for the lack of efficiency,” said Webber. “And therefore very difficult, if not impossible, circumstances.”

Massachusetts State House reporter Steph Solis contributed to this report.

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