WARWICK – As Rhode Island waits on the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations for children under 12 years old, which may come “in a matter of weeks” according to the state’s top health official, the governor is rolling out a new pilot program aimed at keeping kids in the classroom.
Gov. Daniel J. McKee announced during his biweekly COVID-19 update and press conference on Thursday that Rhode Island will soon participate a “Test and Stay” pilot program, mirroring a similar program that’s taking place in Massachusetts, involving regular testing and contact tracing of younger students who remain ineligible for the vaccine.
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McKee also used the COVID-19 update held in Warwick to promote the availability of booster shots in Rhode Island, rolling up his sleeve and getting his third injection of vaccination during a clinic held at the Pilgrim Senior Center.
“We all know that safe in person learning is the best option for our children and we want to make sure that our students have as many in-person, undisrupted school days for learning this school year as possible,” McKee said. “That’s why we are looking at protocols other states have put in place in regards to regular testing to keep the kids in the classroom.”
McKee said, based on the most recent count, there are 4,000 public school students out of 145,000 in the state who are in quarantine from the classroom.
“From a percentage point of view, that’s strong,” McKee said. “We just want to make it better. We’ll have much more to say about this over the next few weeks.”
McKee said he spoke with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday night about the pilot program that’s running in Massachusetts.
“We’re certainly going to be following up, as we compare notes on multiple things,” said McKee, thanking Baker for the call.
McKee said the 30-day pilot program will begin with one district in the state, with a focus on elementary schools. The “Test and Stay” program requires schools to maintain seating charts for students in the classroom and the school bus as part of the contact tracing effort, public health official at the meeting said.
“A program like this is not an easy lift,” McKee said. “It’ll take supplies, human resources and planning. But we’ve done that with all our vaccination efforts, so why won’t we do it in our schools? … Even though it’s not an easy lift, I believe it’s worth exploring because it gives our students the opportunity to be in the classroom learning.”
Meanwhile, children ages 5 to 12 will soon be able to get vaccinated, with word spreading in the public health community that federal regulatory approval may come within the next couple weeks.
“We’re very close to having a vaccine for our younger students,” said Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, adding that “some health officials are speculating” it could be “in a matter of weeks.”
In the meantime, Alexander-Scott endorsed contact tracing as a best practice for schools.
“The way to help schools do this is to ensure that they are keeping accurate seating charts, both for classrooms and for school buses,” Alexander-Scott said. “In our discussion with the CDC leadership on this just yesterday, they confirmed with us the most effective way every student can ensure we are only quarantining those who need to be quarantined.”
As for children over age 12, more pediatricians need to be able to provide the vaccination, said Thomas McCarthy, Rhode Island’s executive director of COVID Response. Currently 53 out of 134 pediatrician’s offices and family medical practices administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
In total 721,374 Rhode Island residents have taken their initial vaccines, although only 44,034 are under the age of 18, according to the latest info from the Department of Health. In total 68.3% of eligible Rhode Islanders have taken their primary two COVID-19 vaccines, the department said.
On the booster front, since a third Pfizer vaccine shot was approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for people over 65 and others with at increased risk for COVID-19, Rhode Island has administered 4,600 shots since Sept. 25, according to McCarthy. There are about 130,000 people in Rhode Island who are eligible for the booster shot, according to the R.I. Department of Health.
The Department of Health on Thursday reported 331 new COVID-19 cases from the prior day, along with two deaths as a result of COVID-19. In total, there has been 172,361 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Rhode Island since the beginning of the pandemic, along with 2,838 deaths in the state attributed to COVID-19, according to the Health Department.
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.
