Vaccine Eligibility For High-Risk, 60-64 RIers Expected Mid-March

PROVIDENCE, RI — With Rhode Island's coronavirus vaccine distribution well underway, eligibility for the next group of residents is expected by the middle of the month. High-risk individuals and anyone aged 60 to 64 years old are the next in line.

Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, said Thursday that the state's effort to get all teachers at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of March is not expected to delay the start of this group.

Rhode Island's projected age group eligibility time shrunk as the state moved from phase one to phase two of distribution, Alexander-Scott said, accelerating when vaccine appointments become available to each group.

The main focus at the state level continues to be building up the vaccine distribution infrastructure to keep pace with increased dose supply from the federal government. The two new mass vaccine sites announced last week are being assembled, with the Middletown site slated to open first, either next week or the one after.

Rhode Island's vaccine efforts continue to show promising results, Alexander-Scott said. While there was a slight increase in coronavirus case numbers over the past week, hospitalizations continue to fall. Since their peak in November and December, new hospitalizations in the state have fallen 73 percent, while deaths are down 84 percent from their respective peak. And vaccine distribution is only speeding up. To date, about one-quarter of the state's population aged 16 and up has gotten at least one vaccine dose.

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