MA Town With Lowest COVID-19 Vaccine Rate Cites ZIP Code Quirk

BUCKLAND, MA — It's not a town full of conspiracy theorists. But there is somewhat of a bureaucratic conspiracy going on.

The reason tiny Buckland — population 1,838 — in northwest Massachusetts has the state's lowest vaccine rate at 11.2 percent is due to a quirk in ZIP codes, which the state uses to collect data on vaccine rates. But the story of Buckland's low-on-paper-only vaccine rate highlights difficulties rural communities experience getting help during the pandemic.

On a recent morning, Buckland Town Administrator Heather Butler picked up the phone to hear yet another reporter ask about the town's record-low COVID-19 vaccine rate. She was ready with a pretty simple explanation: Post office ZIP codes don't line up with town boundaries, which means vaccine data gets misreported.

Most Buckland residents have a Shelburne Falls ZIP code. The state Department of Public Health counts Shelburne Falls' vaccine rates toward the town of Shelburne, which has one of the highest vaccine rates in the state at more than 95 percent. In fact, there are more vaccinated people in Shelburne than there are eligible residents, according to public health data.

The Buckland ZIP code 01338 contains fewer than 200 people. But the department counts that population's vaccine rate against the full town population of 1,838, leading to an 11 percent vaccination rate.

"We've been stomping our feet about it," Butler said.

The bad rap incensed Phoebe Walker, the Buckland town moderator and director of community services at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. Following a MassLive story in October highlighting the low vaccine rate that didn't quote any local officials, Walker rattled cages at the state level.

"It has now been over 18 months that the state has been reporting data about Buckland incorrectly," she said in an Oct. 24 email to the department, state Rep. Natalie Blais (D-Sunderland) and state Sen. Adam Hinds (D-Buckland). "Once again we are the subject of newspaper and TV articles wondering why our rates are so lousy while the same reporters ignore the fact that Shelburne is reported as having vaccinated more people than it has eligible residents."

Walker is in charge of the health department that serves more than a dozen rural Franklin County towns. The region has gone out of its way to get vaccines to residents, she said, offering multiple mobile clinics.

The first large vaccine clinic last year at Mohawk Trail Regional School sold out "like a Bruce Springsteen concert," Butler said.

The region has also had a challenge offering vaccines. The only pharmacy east of Greenfield just got the ability to book vaccine appointments online, Walker said. When the state opened mass vaccination sites last spring, the closest one was a 60-mile drive away in Springfield.

The Franklin Regional Council of Governments also spent money out of its own pocket to host vaccination clinics. Councils of governments were not eligible for reimbursement from the two federal stimulus bills, American Rescue Plan Act and the CARES Act.

The ZIP code weirdness in rural Franklin County affected vaccine rates in other nearby towns, too. The state counted Hawley and Charlemont together in vaccine data. Heath appeared to have a lowly 48 percent vaccine rate, but it also suffered from having multiple ZIP codes run through town. Rowe, with a population of under 400, has five different ZIP codes.

As of this week, the town was still trying to fix the data problem. Blais has been unable to set up a meeting with the Department of Public Health because key people with whom she needs to meet are all on vacation, according to an email exchange shared with Patch.

Walker said the mistaken vaccine numbers were particularly galling given the hard work of public health nurses and health agents. She estimated that at least 70 percent of Buckland was vaccinated, putting it well above larger communities with more resources. Boston and Brookline, for example, have vaccine rates below 70 percent, according to the Department of Public Health.

"There's been a robust vaccine effort in Buckland," Walker said. "In no way is this a particularly vaccine-hesitant community."

This article originally appeared on the Across Massachusetts Patch