PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island continues to have strong demand for the COVID-19 vaccines by all eligible groups of people, dispensing 95% of its supply each week. In the long-run this is good because it will help the state reach herd immunity, according to R.I. Department of Health officials.
The state is opening new age groups for eligibility as the prior ones reach 70% uptake on vaccines, according to Tricia Washburn, chief of the RIDOH Office of Immunization, speaking at a Tuesday morning meeting of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine subcommittee.
The next age group, people in their 50s, should be opened by April 5, she said, and followed by the 40s the following week. All people in Rhode Island age 16 and up are on track to be made eligible by April 19 – within three weeks.
The progression through the middle-age and younger groups has been accelerated, she said, because the state has seen an increase in vaccine supply to its retail pharmacies and specialty health centers through a federal program.
Tom McCarthy, the RIDOH director for COVID-19 response, said Rhode Island is on track to be able to vaccinate with a first dose about 70% of everyone who is eligible by mid-May, with full vaccination coming by late June.
By early June, the state expects to receive about 100,000 doses a week, McCarthy said.
For ‘herd immunity’ the state expects it will need to reach vaccination rates of 70% to 80% of eligible people.
“End of June, beginning of July is when we will start to see more supply than demand,” he said. “But at that point, it is critical we continue to drive demand as high as possible. It’s unlikely we will have a vaccine approved for those younger than 16. In order to reach herd immunity, getting as many people vaccinated that are 16 plus is critically important.”
More than 80% of Rhode Islanders age 65 and older are now vaccinated. The state has vaccinated 54% of people age 60 to 64.
The vaccination data does not include people vaccinated by the U.S. Department of Defense, including all veterans. They are not required to report to the state registry, she said.
“We are doing quite well,” Washburn said.
As of March 28, an age-band chart released by the state shows that a variety of age groups are now being vaccinated.
“The demand is still very high for the eligible age groups, which is fantastic,” she said.
In other announcements:
- The state is now dispensing about 90% of its vaccine allotment each week, a dramatic increase over the past month. The policy set by the state in February set the percentage as a goal for all vaccination sites.
- Teacher and educator vaccinations, carried out by municipal sites and retail pharmacies, had strong participation. The state estimates that 81.5% of teachers, childcare workers and staff were vaccinated with at least first doses in March.
- Almost 600 people who are homeless have been vaccinated. The Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless worked with the state to hold clinics. The state is planning a mobile clinic with the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to inoculate more people.
- The state is planning to increase the allocation of doses going to high-density communities, which are seeing lagging vaccination rates, according to the committee. In this program, people age 16 and up are eligible to get vaccinated. Eligible zip codes for this program now include all of Pawtucket and Central Falls, most of Providence and portions of North Providence and Cranston. Additional zip codes in communities such as East Providence, Woonsocket, Johnston and Cranston are expected to be made eligible, but no date has been set.
- Through March 28, 21,292 people received a first dose through a high-density community site, set up in various cities.
- The largest number of vaccinations are happening through the retail pharmacies in Rhode Island, which receive their own supply of vaccine through a federal program. Through March 28, pharmacies including Walgreen’s and CVS Pharmacy had made 90,472 first doses. The state’s four mass-vaccination sites are the second largest distributor of the vaccines, with 73,279 people receiving their first doses there.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
