AMESBURY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Several North Shore and Merrimack Valley communities have joined forces to make Covid-19 vaccinations more accessible.
The idea came to Amesbury Fire Chief Ken Berkenbush, who proposed that the 9 neighboring cities and towns pool their resources together to create their own vaccination site.
"We have as much capacity -- more capacity than a mass vaccination site," Berkenbush said.
He said the operation has been especially helpful to the older demographic in the area because traveling to a state-run mass vaccination site can be challenging for them.
"To see the smiles on their faces and have them do something positive for a change rather than everything that's been going on throughout the world for their entire year -- it's great," he said.
The site, located at Amesbury High School, is averaging over 1,100 doses per day and is entirely volunteer-driven.
Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove said spirits are high in her city as vaccinations continue to ramp up.
"Everyone is really excited -- very much relieved -- looking forward to hugging their grandchildren or their grandparents," Gove said. "And for [first responders giving the shot] to be able to see firsthand that relief on the faces of our community members is just indescribable."
Gove said that she is also hoping that having the Amesbury vaccination site will also be helpful to the mass vaccination sites in Danvers, Lawrence and Boston -- located in communities that have been hit particularly hard by Covid-19 during the pandemic.
WBZ’s Matt Shearer (@MattWBZ) reports.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio:Facebook|Twitter|Instagram|iHeartmedia App
Written by Rachel Armany
(Photo: Getty Images)