Baker-Polito Administration Submits Initial Vaccine Order to CDC

BOSTON — The Baker-Polito administration has submitted the Commonwealth’s initial vaccine order to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The federal government allocated Massachusetts 59,475 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for this first shipment, part of 300,000 doses the CDC is expected to send to Massachusetts by the end of December. The first allotment of 300,000 COVID-19 vaccines will be for the first dose of a two-dose regimen.

Anticipating that the federal government will soon issue emergency-use authorizations for additional vaccines, the administration has been working with the COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group to prepare for safe, equitable, and efficient distribution based on guidance from the CDC.

The Commonwealth has been actively working on preparedness and planning for a COVID-19 vaccine since early August. Over the past decade, it has invested in the state-of-the-art Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS), which serves as the state’s vaccine registry, ordering system, and inventory system. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has enhanced MIIS to prepare to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. This week, the administration plans to roll out further information on vaccination prioritization.