Health & Fitness
Around 9,000 New Coronavirus Vaccine Appointments Opening In RI
The new appointments will be added to the scheduling portal starting at 5 p.m. Friday.
PROVIDENCE, RI — Thousands of new vaccine appointments will be added to the state's scheduling portal Friday afternoon.
Gov. Dan McKee announced that over 9,000 new appointments will be added to the VaccinateRI.org portal at 5 p.m. Friday. This will include the already-existing mass vaccination sites in Cranston, Providence and Middletown, as well as limited appointments for the new sites in Woonsocket and South Kingstown.
"If you're eligible, don't miss your shot," McKee tweeted.
Find out what's happening in Cranstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Along with the appointments at the large-scale sites, appointments will be added to the site for two independent pharmacies, the Department of Health said: Matt's Local Pharmacy in Middletown and Suburban Pharmacy in Warwick. In total, 400 first-dose appointments will be added for the two sites, which will distribute a combination of Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines. Residents are asked to make appointments on the online portal, and not to contact the pharmacies directly.
"We expect additional independent pharmacies to start vaccinating in the very near future," the department said in a statement.
Find out what's happening in Cranstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
On Thursday, the department announced the new, accelerated vaccine eligibility timeline, which shows residents aged 50 to 59 opening up on April 5, followed by 40 to 49 April 12. All Rhode Islander 16 and older are scheduled to become eligible April 19.
Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the department's director, reminded residents to be patient when scheduling an appointment, saying not everyone will be able to get an appointment the first day they become eligible. The state is preparing to launch a preregistration notification system, which will notify residents when an appointment becomes available. Visit portal.ri.gov to register.
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