29 February, 2024
Town Manager Norman Khumalo and Public Health Nurse Simone Carter are pleased to share a new initiative by the Town of Hopkinton that is expected to increase vaccination access and service for community members.
The Town is partnering with VaxCare, a no-cost vaccine provider, to facilitate future community vaccination clinics.
Through the partnership, VaxCare handles vaccine purchasing, monitors inventory and automatically replenishes dose inventory for the Town. This will ensure that Town-coordinated clinics have the needed vaccine doses to administer to patients and lessens the cost and risk associated with manually stocking vaccine doses. Expired and unused doses can also be returned to VaxCare, lessening the cost impact of unused doses.
VaxCare also automates and streamlines administrative tasks, such as dose tracking and billing, to simplify the coordination and management associated with vaccine delivery. According to VaxCare, the integrated systems it offers decrease the average amount of time vaccination teams spend on manual administrative tasks, allowing for more time focused on patient care.
"Our department's mission is to promote and protect the health and wellness of our community members, and vaccinations are an important aspect of that work," Health Director Shaun McAuliffe said. "We look forward to being able to offer various types of vaccines to our community through this new initiative."
The VaxCare partnership was spearheaded by Public Health Nurse Carter and Nursing team Kasey Mauro and Emilia Muanya who worked collaboratively under the guidance of Director McAuliffe and the state Department of Public Health. The Health Services and Nursing Department continues to meet all DPH requirements, participates fully in the Massachusetts Vaccines for Children (VFC) program and remains a state-recognized VFC site.
"Our work with VaxCare is an exciting opportunity for our public health team to increase our service footprint and efficiently offer more vaccines to more community members at no extra cost to taxpayers," Carter said. "Having the inventory, ordering and many of the behind-the-scenes tasks handled by VaxCare allows our team to focus our attention on patient care and vaccine administration."
Added Town Manager Khumalo: "We're proud to be able to offer community-based vaccine clinics to our residents, ensuring different types of important vaccines are accessible to all members of the community. Thank you to Nurse Carter for her work to bring this program to Hopkinton."
The first clinic to be held in Hopkinton through the VaxCare program will be for Shingrix vaccinations (Shingles) on Tuesday, March 5 from 3-5 p.m. at Hopkinton Town Hall. Registration is available at patients.vaxcare.com/registration with enrollment code "MA09214".
