The Emergency Medical Services System regulation, 105 CMR 170.000, was recently updated to require Massachusetts ambulance services ensure all EMS personnel are vaccinated annually with seasonal influenza vaccine and are up to date with vaccine doses for COVID-19 (as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)), unless an individual is exempt from vaccination.
The attached memorandum provides information to Massachusetts ambulance services of the steps needed to fulfill the regulatory requirement to vaccinate personnel and on the process for submitting these data to the Department of Public Health.
While ambulance services are not required to procure or administer vaccines to personnel directly, services are required to ensure that personnel are vaccinated. Ambulance services may choose (but are not required) to host a health care provider authorized to do so to administer vaccine to their personnel. Alternatively, the ambulance service may direct personnel to a local pharmacy or health care provider for the administration of these vaccines.
Being up to date with vaccine doses for COVID-19 means that the individual must receive one updated COVID-19 vaccine, at least two months after getting the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine.   An individual who has not previously received any doses of COVID-19 vaccine but who receives one dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine is also considered up-to-date.  
An individual is exempt from the vaccine(s) if they decline vaccination.
Ambulance services must maintain proof of vaccination or their personnel’s declination statement via a central system to track vaccination status of all personnel.
Ambulance services must report its aggregate personnel COVID-19 and influenza data to the Department of Public Health through an online survey in REDCap by February 15, 2024. To access the online survey, please click on the following link: https://redcap.link/ma-hcp-covidandfluvaccination
