COVID vaccine clinics at LRGH, Franklin now open to public

LACONIA — Starting today anyone who has a confirmed registration to receive a COVID shot under Phase 1B of the state vaccination schedule will be able to get their inoculation at Lakes Region General Hospital.

LRGHealthcare is one of eight health care providers statewide which agreed to open its vaccination clinics to the general public at the request of the state, Jamie LaRoche, director of provider network operations, said Tuesday. The state made that request last Thursday, she said. Prior to that the only open clinic site in the immediate Laconia area was at Lakes Region Community College.

Previous plans for the clinics at LRGH and Franklin Regional Hospital called for them to be restricted to people age 64 and under who suffer from two or more chronic conditions and who are already being treated for those ailments at one of LRGH’s practices.

The clinics will be held Wednesdays and Thursdays at LRGH, and on Tuesdays at Franklin Regional starting next week, LaRoche said.

The state has committed at this time to providing enough vaccine to inoculate 100 people each day the clinics operate. LaRoche said the state is hoping to increase the allotment to 200 doses for each day’s clinic, but it gave no indication when that might happen.

The state launched a website last Friday to allow people to register to be vaccinated. The registration triggers an email that allows a person to schedule the vaccination.

Using the online scheduling feature on the Vaccine Administration Management System — or VAMS — a person can select the date and time as well as a location to get their shot, LaRoche explained. The website includes a feature which will highlight which sites are within a given distance of a person’s residence.

Those who are qualified to receive their shot in Phase 1B can also sign up by using LRGH’s COVID hotline number 527-7069. They may also register by emailing covidvaccine@lrgh.org. The phone line and email will be monitored and staffed Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Those coming to the clinics at LRGH will enter the complex through the Spring Street entrance. Members of the Community Emergency Response Team and volunteers from the Partnership for Public Health will guide patients to the room where the clinic is taking place. Access to the Franklin clinic will be through the hospital’s main lobby. There, too, special personnel will be available to provide assistance.

LaRoche said those coming to get their shot should bring a current photo ID with them. The registration website lists other documents which will be accepted as proof of identity.