PROVIDENCE – State health officials on Thursday said that Rhode Island is going at a “good pace” regarding administering the COVID-19 vaccinations to the community, they reiterated that Rhode Island still does not currently have enough vaccines to administer doses to all within the high-risk and older populations.
Dr. Philip Chan, infectious disease physician from Lifespan Corp., said during the state’s weekly press conference that Rhode Island is still receiving about 14,000 doses of the vaccine per week. That amount is only enough to vaccinate 1.5% of the state’s population per week, Chan said.
The R.I. Department of Health said there have been 50,637 first doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed to date in Rhode Island, and 12,515 individuals received second doses to be fully vaccinated.
“The biggest challenge we’re facing right now is we’re not getting a lot of supply, much like other states,” Chan said. “If we have enough vaccines today, we would [vaccinate all], but we just don’t.”
Older adults and health care providers have been among the first to receive vaccinations, Chan said. Even so, the limited supply does not meet the demand of these two groups, he said, hence why the state has to take a “stepwise approach.” Furthermore, Chan said about 187,000 people ages 65 and older live in Rhode Island and it would take “months” to get through that population at 14,000 doses per week received and only focused on that population.
Chan also said the state is exploring multiple sites, such as pharmacies and senior centers, where the vaccine could be distributed to those older than 75. Plans for the next phase of the vaccination plan will be presented to the state’s COVID-19 vaccination subcommittee Friday morning and could be finalized by next week, Chan said.
R.I. Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said the vaccination will prevent most individuals from getting sick from the new coronavirus, there is still uncertainty as to if the vaccines will completely prevent people from getting the virus or spreading it. Even with being vaccinated, Alexander-Scott urges residents to still wear masks and keep their distance from others.
There were 20,079 tests processed Wednesday, with an overall positive rate of 3.5%. When excluding both repeat positive and repeat negative test results, the positive rate was 19.2%. There have been 2.34 million tests administered in the state to 711,223 individuals. Alexander-Scott called the low percent-positive rate “great news,” however, she also noted that current business restrictions should remain in place given a new virus strain, which has been confirmed in a couple cases in Massachusetts, could potentially arrive in Rhode Island.
Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients in the state totaled 379, level with one day prior. Of those hospitalized, 51 were in an intensive care unit, an increase of three day to day, and 36 were on a ventilator, the same as the previous day.
Cases of COVID-19 in Rhode Island increased by 698 on Wednesday, with 18 more deaths, the department said.
Cases in the state have totaled 108,786 to date, a rise of 910 from figures reported 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 have totaled 2,076 to date.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo did not take questions Thursday, nor was she present at a COVID-19-related press conference for the first time since the pandemic began in March. Multiple first-amendment advocacy groups, including the Rhode Island Press Association – which Providence Business News is a member publication of – announced Wednesday that they wrote letters to the governor’s office calling for the governor and U.S. commerce secretary nominee to resume answering questions from the public.
Lt. Gov. Daniel J. McKee, slated to take over as governor, was also not present at Thursday’s press conference.
Raimondo’s last in-person public appearance was Jan. 13, in which she left without taking questions from the media. She last answered questions publicly regarding the pandemic on Dec. 22.
Raimondo’s lone statement Thursday about the pandemic came via Twitter where she thanked Rhode Islanders to lowering the state’s percent-positive rate to its “lowest in three months.”
“We’re on a good path. Keep wearing your mask, sticking with your household and getting tested often. The end is in sight,” Raimondo tweeted.
The R.I. attorney general’s office also confirmed Wednesday it is looking into whether or not there were legal violations committed involving vaccine distributions at Lifespan and Care New England Health System. Multiple news outlets reported that the hospital groups began offering vaccines to those who were low-risk, including board members and those who don’t directly work with patients.
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s spokesperson, Kristy dosReis, said Thursday via email that vaccine distribution should be guided by public health and done in accordance with RIDOH guidelines. Any deviation from those guidelines “is of great concern to this office,” dosReis said.
“We intend to look into any improper distribution to determine whether legal violations occurred,” dosReis said. “Whether or not any legal violations occurred, we urge the entities that are charged with vaccine administration to do so in an equitable and transparent manner and in strict compliance with RIDOH guidance.”
DosReis did not respond when asked if there is any early indication on when Neronha may make a determination as to whether or not violations occurred.
In response, Alexander-Scott said hospitals are being asked to vaccinate their organizations “incrementally,” being told to vaccinate their highest-exposed health care workers first.
Others, such as lab workers, social workers and administrators, in the hospitals are getting vaccinated after the highest-risk workers because although they don’t communicate and interact with patients, they still are pivotal of making a hospital function, Alexander-Scott said.
She added that the state leaves it up to the hospitals to determine which individuals get vaccinated, but the state is working “closely” with hospitals to ensure those who are at highest risk continue to stay at the forefront of who is vaccinated.
The health director, when asked by a reporter about how it looks when those not in contact with patients are being vaccinated before older and high-risk individuals, said she understand the “optics” of the existing concerns, but reiterated that those individuals working in hospitals who aren’t in regular contact with patients still contribute to the hospitals’ everyday functioning.
When asked if there should be penalties established by RIDOH for those who “jump the line,” Alexander-Scott said there would not be a need to penalize anyone if the health care partners are working collaboratively to get the vaccinations to those in need of it. If there are ongoing issues, or people are skipped inappropriately, the state can “absolutely” make changes to address the matter, she said.
“We made clear the message to hospitals and all our vaccination partners the importance of keeping equity at the forefront,” she said, “and the importance of focusing on those who are at the highest risk.”
(Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Care New England Health System.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
So if i understand Dr. Chan…..” (para) there’s just too many people over 65 for the supply we’re getting so we won’t bother starting with that group… it’s too hard, it’s much easier to complain about the supply instead and give out the doses to healthy young “essential” people”……Really? Seems to me that if all you had is one dose -it should go to the most vulnerable person. Go by year born. Oldest first. Easy to administer, fair and equitable. If it takes 10 weeks so be it. Every week you’d be reducing the death rate since 80% of the deaths and hospitalizations are in that age group. There’s no proof that a vaccinated (healthy young) person will actually stop the TRANSMISSION of the disease to another person..Dr Alexander-Scott admits that… (and therefore you can’t necessarily control the SPREAD) but there IS clinical evidence that a vaccinated person has a 95% chance of NOT catching the virus and therefore when given to the most vulnerable you are preventing DEATHS. So you can’t control the spread but you CAN control the DEATH Rate. And to me that’s something you must focus on and I’d argue you are morally obligated to focus on. This is getting ridiculous now. It’s the same excuse day in and day out and we’ve made no meaningful progress with protecting the most vulnerable. Vaccinate the oldest first, mask up everyone else and attack it from both ends. Do that first and continue to put pressure on the supply side.