Long waits, confusion at City Hall’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic

In their push to fight a rising number of COVID-19 cases, Boston officials on Thursday hosted a vaccine clinic at City Hall, where residents reported long waits and confusion over the clinic’s walk-in policy.

Mayor Michelle Wu announced the clinic, one of several the city is hosting, earlier this week as part of the city’s four-strategy approach to tackling the pandemic’s winter surge.

Wu was among the crowd on Thursday and received a booster dose of the vaccine, which she called “one of the most important ways we can protect our families and communities.”

“Thanks to the hard work of our team at the Boston Public Health Commission and City Hall, I was able to join the hundreds of residents who have attended our free, walk-in clinics,” Wu said in a statement. “Let’s all continue to take every action possible to end this pandemic.”

But those who turned out at City Hall faced a few hiccups in the city-sponsored vaccination effort.

Aside from long waits, some individuals reported being turned away for not having an appointment, according to NBC10 Boston. Confusion appeared to come from the clinic’s advertised walk-in policy, although there were only a certain number of walk-in appointments available, the station reported.

City employees, meanwhile, filled many of the other appointments, the outlet reported.

“This is very frustrating,” Boston resident Mary Beth Marciano told NBC10. “You go on the website, it says open clinic. There isn’t anything to sign up for.”

Marciano, who has two autoimmune disorders, ultimately landed one of the appointments available, the station reported.

Karyn Regal, a reporter at WBZ, wrote in a tweet there were about 200 doses for appointments, with about 500 total doses available.

Some people reportedly waited for close to an hour before learning they needed an appointment.

“A trio of women told me they’ve been waiting in line in City Hall for an hour, coming to the much-advertised clinic as walk ins … only to find that it’s appointment only,” Sean Philip Cotter, a Boston Herald reporter, wrote on Twitter.

In a statement to Boston.com, a city spokesperson said the Boston Public Health Commission “rapidly added capacity” at the clinic on Thursday to try to meet demand, adding that the clinic welcomed “a certain number of walk-ins on the hour.”

On Monday, Wu announced she formed the 17-member COVID-19 Advisory Committee, a group of leaders from across sectors in the city that will help advise the city’s evolving response to the health crisis.

Wu’s approach to the pandemic at this stage is made up of four strategies: increasing access to vaccines and boosters, increasing testing, enhancing health communication, and boosting preventative measures for virus spread.