Appointments Open For RI's State-Run Coronavirus Vaccine Sites

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island residents aged 75 years and older can now register for a vaccine appointment at one of the two state-run mass vaccine sites. The first public vaccinations will be distributed on Thursday.

Appointments will open to residents 65 and older starting Feb. 22.

Residents can schedule appointments online at vaccinateRI.org. Anyone who is unable to register online can call 844-930-1779 on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. or weekends from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled by the person or by a caregiver on their behalf.

"With the success of Phase 1 in shoring up our health care system, and the ability for speed and scale in Phase 2, Rhode Island is well-positioned to stay ahead of COVID-19," Gov. Gina Raimondo said. "Now, with a single website and phone number to sign up for appointments at any of our State-run sites, we’re taking our successful testing model and bringing it to this final frontier in our fight to end this pandemic."

Because the state's vaccine supply remains limited, the Department of Health expects appointments to fill up quickly. There are two vaccine sites: the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence and Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston, in the same building as the city's coronavirus field hospital. Rhode Islanders are encouraged to be patient and only schedule an appointment of one site, since the vaccine dose will be guaranteed once the appointment is scheduled. More appointments will become available as more vaccine doses arrive in the state.

Rhode Island's vaccine program has been criticized for its slow rollout and confusion surrounding where and when older residents can get vaccinated. Despite the frustrations, Dr. James McDonald, the Chief Administrative Officer at the Rhode Island Department of Health, said that the targeted approach has done what it was intended to do — drastically reduce coronavirus cases in health care workers, congregate care residents and the most at-risk communities in the state.

"Keeping people out of the hospital is the most important," McDonald said at a Zoom meeting with reporters on Tuesday. "We are doing what we can to make this as fast as possible."

Since the start of the state's vaccination effort in December, coronavirus cases in health care workers have dropped by about two-thirds, cases in long-term care facilities have fallen by about 55 percent and cases in Central Falls have fallen by about 64 percent, McDonald said. Figures like this help demonstrate the importance of focusing on public health outcomes (the results of the vaccine rollout approach) rather than public health activity (the number of vaccines administered), he said.

"While targeting these high-risk groups took more time than opening appointments to the general population from the outset, it also had the intended effect of preventing more severe cases of COVID-19, more significantly decreasing hospitalizations, and speeding up the reopening of our economy," the department said in a statement.

Hospitalizations in Rhode Island have fallen faster than other states, decreasing 46 percent compared to the national average of 32 percent. For the first time in months, weekly new hospitalization numbers are back within the safe range.

This was all Phase One of the state's vaccine rollout plan. Now that these key demographics have been targeted, the state is moving into Phase Two, which will vaccinate people more broadly, by age group. This has already begun with the availability of vaccine for those aged 75 and up, and will expand to 65-plus Feb. 22.

"[The state] will continue to work in partnership with all cities and towns, with a particular emphasis on high-density communities most impacted by COVID-19, to ensure the vaccine is efficiently and equitably distributed," the department said.

The department also plans to ramp up capacity at the mass vaccination sites, aiming to double capacity from 1,400 per day to 2,800 in the coming weeks.

Coronavirus in Rhode Island: Read more

• RI's New Coronavirus Hospitalizations Back Within Safe Range
• U.K. Coronavirus Variant Found In RI: How To Stay Safe
  
• Incoming RI Governor 'Not Satisfied' With State's Vaccine Rollout
  
• 2 Mass Coronavirus Vaccination Sites To Open In Rhode Island