Health & Fitness
Rhode Island Ramps Up Coronavirus Vaccines For Teachers
Gov. Dan McKee said he aims to get shots in the arms of every educator in the state by the end of the month.
PROVIDENCE, RI — As Rhode Island speeds up its coronavirus vaccine effort, teachers are getting bumped to the front of the line. Just two days into office, Gov. Dan McKee announced that the state hopes to get at least one vaccine dose to all teachers in the state by the end of March.
CVS started offering vaccine appointments to Rhode Island teachers Wednesday, following a national mandate from President Joe Biden. In the time leading up to his gubernatorial transition, McKee echoed this sentiment, calling for teachers to be prioritized in the distribution effort.
Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green thanked McKee for his focus on teachers, saying that although schools have been proven to have low levels of coronavirus transmission, she and other education officials recognize the need to address teacher concerns.
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"We've said it time and time again, school is not where the spread is," the commissioner said at Thursday's news conference. "[Vaccines are] another mitigation, another layer of protection."
At this time, vaccine appointments are not yet available to teachers through the state's mass vaccine sites, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Health told Patch. Health officials are working with the Department of Education to develop a plan to most effectively roll out teacher vaccines on a larger scale, Joseph Wendelken said.
Find out what's happening in Cranstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Infante-Green said that teacher vaccinations will help the state's goal to get as many kids back in school, full-time. According to the commissioner, 208 schools are fully back in-person, 99 are using a hybrid model and just four are fully virtual.
"The majority of our students are in-person," she said, adding that the department is working closely with superintendents to bring back students while following guidance from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
Coronavirus in Rhode Island: Read more
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