Public and private low-income and affordable housing property operators should begin exploring options to vaccinate residents and staff now before the state activates the next phase of its vaccine distribution plan, administration officials said on a Tuesday Zoom call.
Senior affordable housing properties fall into Phase Two, Group Two of the state’s vaccination timeline and the state is currently vaccinating individuals in Phase One and those 75 and older. While the governor has not yet advanced the vaccination timeline into Phase Two, Group Two, Metropolitan Area Planning Council Executive Director Marc Draisen said that move could occur in a few weeks.
“Even though we have to live with some uncertainty about when that day is going to be, there is a lot of work that we can do to make sure that as soon as the governor gives us that sign, we will be able to move swiftly to vaccinate this incredibly important population,” he said during an informational webinar hosted by MAPC.
Public and private low-income and affordable housing includes residential premises available for lease by older and disabled individuals that are financed or subsidized entirely or partly by state or federal housing programs. This also applies to public housing properties operated by local housing authorities designated for older adults and buildings owned by a municipality but managed by a private company.
The properties must be age restricted to qualify as low income and affordable housing for seniors. Because the state is allowing residents 75 and older to get vaccinated, some residents at these properties might qualify for a vaccine.
“What we’re talking about is if you wanted to take a whole building, and do a clinic for the staff, and for … anyone who lives there, regardless of their age,” Executive Officer of Elder Affairs Chief Housing Officer Emily Cooper said. “You can start doing that in Group 2 of Phase 2. I do not have a crystal ball and do not know when that’s going to be activated. We have been told to say later in February.”
Administration officials are urging municipalities and housing administrators to start reaching out to potential vaccination partners as early as possible. Cooper said this would allow housing operators to start gathering required documents from staff and residents, examining potential vaccination sites, and considering how many doses are necessary to hold a clinic.
Low-income and affordable senior housing operators have three vaccine deployment options: utilizing existing pharmacy or medical provider relationships, contacting the local board of health, or scheduling appointments at a provider’s location, pharmacy, or state-run vaccination site.
“These are not mutually exclusive,” Cooper said. “You can also mix and match. If you’re a property manager and you have buildings across the state, you’re a management company, you’d be using different approaches in different communities, you’re going to see what works for your building and your community and your residents.”
As for municipalities, Cooper said local officials should think beyond public senior housing sites and consider private housing located in their communities when offering assistance. Municipal agencies can offer to help plan and coordinate potential vaccination sites and even offer up town buildings if there is no space in the housing property.
Cooper said local officials can help partner low-income and affordable senior housing operators with local health care agencies, community health centers, and hospitals. And municipalities can also offer assistance with securing volunteers and completing required paperwork.
“Make sure you’re all coordinating and moving in the same direction,” Cooper said.
Gov. Charlie Baker announced that residents and staff of both public and private low-income and affordable housing for seniors would be slotted into Phase Two of the vaccination timeline.
Robin Lipson, deputy secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, said Massachusetts stands among a small number of states which have prioritized residents of senior housing in their vaccine rollout.
“We did that because we know the risk that these people are at clinically,” Lipson said during the webinar. “We also know that they have also experienced extreme levels of isolation from the rest of their community, their friends, their families, their loved ones and we really feel it’s important to get them into the vaccine rollout as quickly as possible.”
