PROVIDENCE – By the end of the week, Rhode Island is expected to receive 35,000 vaccine doses from both Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., said Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott during the state’s weekly coronavirus briefing.
She said approximately 5,000 doses of those vaccines will be set aside for vaccinating in nursing homes, which is expected to begin just after the Christmas holiday.
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As of 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 6,400 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Rhode Island. Many of those Rhode slanders who have received their first dose are frontline health care workers.
Tuesday’s press conference was the first time Alexander-Scott returned to the public after testing positive for COVID-19 nearly two weeks ago. She said she remained asymptomatic.
In addition, the R.I. Department of Health and its subcommittee on vaccine distribution is currently finalizing the distribution plan draft, according to Alexander-Scott. The last time the 51-page document was updated was in October.
She said that people won’t be surprised by the final plan, but the state will vaccinate people based on their risk level, with a special focus on equity.
Alexander-Scott said there are a number of scams surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine. If a Rhode Islander receives a call asking for financial information, Alexander-Scott said not to provide any.
“No one will have to pay for the vaccine out of pocket, and there’s no list to get on,” said Alexander-Scott.
The press conference comes as Lifespan Corp., the largest health care system in the state, received its 3,000 shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna Tuesday. The shipment was received by Rhode Island Hospital and completed the first shipment of 4,200 doses to the system.
On Monday, 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine were delivered to Newport Hospital and 1,000 doses were delivered to The Miriam Hospital, according to a statement by Kathleen Hart, Lifespan’s spokeswoman. She said Lifespan is first vaccinating employees at the highest risk, including providers and staff who have direct contact with coronavirus patients or COVID-19 infectious fluids and materials.
Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Gagosz@PBN.com. You may also follow her on Twitter at @AlexaGagosz.
