Vaccination rate increasing in Mass. as fewer communities in red zone – Boston.com

For the third week straight, Massachusetts health officials reported a decrease in the number of communities at the highest risk of coronavirus transmission.

The Department of Public Health also released its weekly vaccine dashboard Thursday, which displayed a rise in both vaccinations and vaccine dose shipments to Massachusetts, though shots are being administered quicker than they’re arriving.

Thursday’s town-by-town coronavirus risk data categorizes communities’ risk level on a scale from red, the highest, to gray, the lowest — this week officials reported 153 towns in the red zone, compared to 192 last Thursday, continuing along the same downward trend as the past few weeks.

See this Thursday’s full town-by-town coronavirus data here.

According to the state, 149,030 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and reported in the last seven days, while 681,472 have been distributed overall.

In total, 29,250 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were shipped to the Bay State in the last week, as well as 83,300 doses of Moderna’s vaccine.

Officials reported that in total, 896,300 doses have been shipped to Massachusetts, marking a 31% dip from the previous week.

While the state is making about 120,000 new vaccine appointments available this week, Gov. Charlie Baker urged patience at a press conference Wednesday, noting that most residents who are eligible may have to wait several weeks to schedule theirs.

Baker’s administration has sparked frustration over the dragging pace of its distribution compared to most other states.

See this Thursday’s full weekly report on vaccinations here.