AUDIO: MASS VACCINATION SITE PARTIALLY OPENS AT FENWAY PARK; ANOTHER GAINS MOMENTUM AT GILLETTE STADIUM

GBH

This week, Fenway Park became more than just a place to cheer on the Red Sox with a soft pretzel.

The park had a soft opening as the state's second mass vaccination site. Starting next week, the site plans to be vaccinating upwards of 1,500 people each day, to start.

Rachel Wilson is the COO of CIC Health, which operates the Fenway Park site and the state's first mass vaccination operation at Gillette Stadium. According to Wilson, Gillette is currently vaccinating roughly 2,000 people per day with a future goal to vaccinate 5,000 each day.

Wilson says these places provide more than just the space for a socially distant roll-out.

"What we're trying to do is to create confidence and excitement and engagement and energy around getting vaccinated because this is really how we get back to our new normal lives," said Wilson. "And so these venues are powerful not just for the feeling they bring while you're there but also for the feeling you create in others to help them get vaccinated when it's their turn."

Dave McGillivray is the owner of DMSE Sports and the longtime race director of the Boston Marathon. Now, he and his company are part of the operations for both sites. He says working with both sites has not only saved his business but gave him a sense of purpose during this tough time.

"It starts with hope and that's what we're creating right now with all these people is hope that this is gonna go away and our lives are gonna get back to normal," said McGillivray.

We also heard from Marty Martinez, Boston's Chief of Health and Human Services, about how the city is bridging the digital divide in their vaccine distribution, particularly as it starts to ramp up another mass vaccination site at the Reggie Lewis Track and Field Center in Roxbury.

Click on the audio player to listen.