Updated at 12:59 p.m.
On the eve of his appearance before Beacon Hill lawmakers at the first pandemic oversight hearing, Gov. Charlie Baker was cautiously optimistic that supplies of COVID-19 vaccine from federal suppliers will increase through the month of March.
"This could be a really big moment if, in fact, what folks are saying actually plays out over the course of the next 30 to 45 days," Baker said Wednesday after touring the new mass vaccination site at the Natick Mall.
Federal regulators moved forward Wednesday in the approval process of a new vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, and the manufacturers of existing vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, both committed to increasing production by the end of March.
"Sites like this one will have more vaccine to distribute to people, and people will have more appointments that they will be able to book," Baker said, "which means we can go more quickly through each phase of the vaccine rollout process."
The Natick site, one of several mass vaccination sites throughout the state, now administers 100 doses a day but plans to ramp up to 5,000 doses a day once more supplies are available.
Baker said that of the 1.7 million doses already delivered to Massachusetts, 1.4 million have been administered.
At a hearing scheduled for Thursday, lawmakers will question Baker on his vaccine rollout plans, including the failure of the state's appointment website the morning people ages 65 and older became eligible for the shots. To prepare for another surge in traffic to the site when a new 50,000 appointments are listed Thursday, Baker said his team has boosted the website's capacity and will introduce a "digital waiting room" to prevent traffic surges from crashing the site.
"The page will display more information about when you'll be allowed to proceed. But it's basically the equivalent of creating a line, and people would then move from their position in the line onto the website," Baker said.
Baker also announced that $4.7 million will go to the state's 20 communities hit hardest by the pandemic as part of an equity outreach program.
"These funds will be used to work with local leaders and community and faith based organizations to strengthen existing efforts to reduce barriers to vaccination and to increase awareness about the efficacy and safety of the COVID 19 vaccine," Baker said.
Baker also announced 11 new regional immunization collaboratives opening March 1 that will be able to vaccinate 750 individuals a day, if supplies from the federal government are available.
