The absence of a central registry in Rhode Island for the coronavirus vaccine has led to confusion and frustration among people who now qualify for an appointment because of their age but who cannot compete with the demand for the vaccine.
A state-run vaccine registration – akin to what the state now offers for COVID-19 testing – is expected to start on Feb. 17, according to the R.I. Department of Health.
For the first two months of vaccine distribution, Rhode Island inoculated people based on where they worked, whether in hospitals, with the elderly in nursing homes or in other front-line work related to health care.
But with inoculations now available to the general public on a system based on age, the state decided to allow vaccines to be distributed through city and town agencies and through retail pharmacies, which earlier this month started accepting public appointments.
The initial slots available at the two major drug store chains, CVS Health Corp. and Walgreen Co., for people age 75 and up filled so quickly that people who accessed websites at midnight on opening day were unable to find the vaccine.
Deborah Merola tried unsuccessfully to make appointments for her parents multiple times over three days. She finally gave up. Her mother, who is 84, and her father, 90, live in East Providence.
“I tried for three days … at different hours of the day and night,” Merola said.
She wondered if it’s the small population of Rhode Island, relative to other states, that has led to a seeming shortage of vaccines. The process of trying to find a spot for her parents was “definitely stressful,” she said.
A Department of Health spokesman said the state wasn’t initially able to establish a mass registry for the public because the agency didn’t have the vaccines yet. Instead, state officials chose to steer people to pharmacies and municipal-run clinics where vaccines are available.
Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the Department of Health, announced Thursday that the state would be opening two of its own vaccination sites on Feb. 18, with registration opening the day before for people age 75 and older. She said the sites will have the capacity to vaccinate hundreds of people per hour.
Despite this, Alexander-Scott said she expects that people may continue to have trouble securing appointments to receive shots. “There is still more demand than supply,” she said. “We are frustrated too.”
The states bordering Rhode Island have already established centralized registration portals for residents.
Massachusetts created a registration site on its state website. Like Rhode Island, Massachusetts remains in phase 1 and has started vaccinating residents aged 75 and older.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Connecticut started registering people aged 65 and older for the vaccine. The state had already been vaccinating residents aged 75 and older. It is using a variety of methods for registering people for vaccines, including through their physicians, through retail pharmacies and through a vaccination administration management system hosted by the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Feb. 10, Rhode Island has fully vaccinated 3.6% of its population, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. By comparison, 3.1% of Massachusetts residents had been fully vaccinated, and Connecticut stood at 3.7%. Vermont was making the most headway in New England at 4.6%.
Karen Santilli tried for hours, as did her siblings, to find an appointment for her 84-year-old mother in Scituate who has health issues. First, they left phone messages at the Scituate Senior Center, trying to get her scheduled at the site.
Her mother tried the Walgreen’s website and was confused when it directed her to pharmacies in Fall River, or Putnam, Conn., instead of locations in Rhode Island.
Santilli said she then tried the CVS website at midnight, 4 a.m. and noon. She kept getting the message: No available appointments in the area. By Friday, her mother had an appointment at the senior center.
Santilli, CEO and president of Crossroads Rhode Island, has been vaccinated because she works with a high-risk population. That process was uniform and extended to her staff, allowing them to schedule appointments through the state Department of Health.
“Why couldn’t they do what they did for [Crossroads] workers for these citizens of the state?” she said.
Some physicians who advise the state anticipated flaws in the rollout. On Feb. 5, some members of an advisory committee expressed worry that a lack of a central system would allow people to make multiple appointments in various ways. Several said duplicate appointments could lead to wasted doses.
Dr. Michael Fine, a health adviser to Central Falls and a former state health director, said the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that the U.S. has a market-based health system that is not tuned well for a public health crisis.
His great fear is not for the people initially shut out of appointments. The people who are highly motivated to get vaccinated will be vaccinated, he said. To achieve protection for the general population, a large percentage will need to be vaccinated.
An effective distribution plan, Fine said, must include more than websites. “It’s getting health care workers on the street,” he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized where Karen Santilli's mother lives.
