Not many can say they received a COVID-19 vaccine on their 75th birthday, but now Worcester's Mary Becker can. And she's already looking ahead to her second dose.
She said, "I think after the second shot and after the two weeks, even if we're still wearing our masks, we want to hug our grandkids."
Mary and her husband, Dick, both had their shots Tuesday at the newly opened vaccination site at Worcester State University. It was a sigh of relief for the couple.
Dick said, "They just did so much to get this done in nine months as opposed to four years."
"It's going to be awesome, because everybody is going to have an easier time getting appointments in the future," said Mary.
The partnership between the school, St. Vincent Hospital, and Commonwealth Medicine is one of six sites across Massachusetts poised to take the fight to the coronavirus.
The hope is hundreds of shots daily, which will eventually turn into thousands next month.
St. Vincent Hospital CEO Carolyn Jackson said, "Next week, we'll have 500 a day. We're doing five days a week right now. Ultimately, we'd like to get up to a thousand first doses and a thousand second doses a day and perhaps go further than that."
More than 1,700 volunteers will assist at this site, as well as others across the state.
Executive Vice Chancellor of Commonwealth Medicine Lisa Colombo said, "I would say half of the people registered in the Vaccine Corps are students or licensed professionals in health care. Those are the folks who are doing clinical tasks."
With operations now underway, a common theme among patients and staff was hope.
Colombo said, "We're in a position where we're finally potentially seeing the end of a tunnel that has been really long."
"It's a place of hope. People are excited. They see a light at the end of the tunnel, and they're happy to be part of it," said Jackson.
Right now, the site is scheduled to be administering vaccines Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you are eligible to receive a vaccine, you are urged to go to the state's website, mass.gov, and register for your appointment.