PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island plans to open access to the COVID-19 vaccines to people in their 50s by April 5 and to people in their 40s the following week and has established a central registry for people to schedule appointments, according to health officials Thursday.
The state anticipates receiving more vaccine supply in the coming weeks, and will open two more mass-vaccination sites this weekend, according to Gov. Daniel J. McKee.
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Rhode Island received about 53,000 doses of vaccine this week, he said, up from 47,000 last week. Additional supply is anticipated as the state moves toward opening eligibility to younger Rhode Islanders.
To date, about 45% of people aged 60 and above and who have underlying health conditions have received a first shot, according to health officials.
The state’s registration system for vaccine appointments is online at portal.ri.gov. The site is open now, but will start making appointments for people starting April 7, according to Tom McCarthy, the state’s executive director for COVID-19 response.
People who do not have the ability to register online can do so by calling 844-930-1779.
Starting April 7, half of the state’s supply of vaccine doses will be administered through appointments on that site. But people can continue to register for their own vaccinations using retail pharmacies, or the state’s existing portal at vaccinateRI.org.
People will receive a notification by email of their appointment, McCarthy said. They will have an assigned location and date, but can pick a window of time. All of those vaccines will be administered at the state-run sites.
The state remains on target to open general access for all Rhode Islanders, age 16 and up, to the vaccine by April 19, according to McKee.
“We feel as though the volume and the supply is going to continue to increase,” he said.
R.I. Department of Health officials remain concerned about the emergence of more contagious variants of the virus in Rhode Island. Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the department director, said the state estimates that 40% of its current infections are the result of more contagious variants.
The state has a test-positive rate of about 2%, and that has remained consistently at that level for the past six weeks, despite the rollout of vaccines, she noted. This indicates that the infection is spreading more rapidly among the ever-smaller pool of people who have not been vaccinated.
Rhode Island had 441 new positive cases Wednesday, out of 20,634 tests performed, for a test positivity of 2.1%. “The stability of that number does tell us something about the landscape of COVID-19 in Rhode Island,” Alexander-Scott said.
Effective Friday, restaurants can seat 10 people at outdoor tables, up from eight.
Self-seating is to be allowed at restaurants with counter service, such as ice cream shops, as long as cleanings are conducted in between parties.
Gyms may start to use their shower facilities.
Also starting Friday, all businesses can drop the requirement to maintain a written cleaning log, verifying that they are complying with cleaning and disinfection procedures.
“We’ve heard from many businesses that the paperwork is taking time,” said Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor. “We are removing the paperwork requirement that many businesses have found to be a nuisance.”
Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients totaled 110, a decline of two day to day. Of those hospitalized, 18 are in intensive care units, a rise of two day to day, and 11 are on a ventilator, one less than what was reported on Wednesday.
There have been 488,430 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Rhode Island to date, a rise of 9,351 from Wednesday. Of those, 312,150 have been first doses, a rise of 3,487 day to day. To date, 187,694 individuals in the state have been fully vaccinated, a 6,166 increase from one day prior.
Cases in the state total 135,290, an increase of 483 from Wednesday, accounting for both the day-to-day increase as well as data revisions for previous days.
Deaths due to the virus in Rhode Island now total 2,607.
There have been 3.42 million tests administered to date to 836,701 individuals.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
(This story has been updated throughout to include details from the state’s weekly COVID-19 press conference.)
