Rhode Island Receives First 3,000 Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccines

PROVIDENCE, RI — The first dozes of the coronavirus vaccine have arrived in Rhode Island. On Monday, Lifespan received approximately 3,000 initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which will be administered to frontline health care workers.

The vaccine's arrival in Rhode Island comes just days after the Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization to Pfizer for the vaccine. Once it was approved, Rhode Island's vaccine plan kicked into gear to ensure fast and efficient distribution. While the Department of Health is handling distribution, individual groups, in this case hospitals, will be tasked with actually administering it.

In a statement, Lifespan said it is "preparing to rapidly administer the vaccine to its health care workers" starting Monday, starting with those at highest risk. The company plans to vaccinate all employees in the coming months.

"Lifespan is grateful for this allocation of the first coronavirus vaccine to help protect high-risk health care workers who are needed to treat our patients," CEO Dr. Timothy Babineau said. "We are ready to quickly distribute the vaccine and after long months of battling this pandemic, we have powerful reasons for optimism that the end is in sight."

Rhode Island has spent the last several months preparing for the arrival of the vaccine, assembling a special COVID-19 vaccine subcommittee and developing a four-phase distribution plan prioritizing those who are most at risk.

Read more:

• Rhode Island's Coronavirus Vaccine Timeline: Who's Getting It
• RI's Top Doctor Has Coronavirus; Gov. Raimondo In Quarantine
  
• Latest Coronavirus Updates In Rhode Island: What To Know
  
• New, Reduced Coronavirus Quarantine Rules In Rhode Island
  
• What Happens After Rhode Island's Coronavirus Pause Ends?
  
• Rhode Island's Coronavirus Pause Extended 1 Week To Dec. 20