PROVIDENCE – The state’s move to a centralized registration for state-run COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as pushing the vaccine out to people aged 65 and older, is getting a boost from an increase in available doses coming into the state.
After several weeks of getting about 16,000 first doses a week, Rhode Island learned Tuesday it would receive 22,500 doses a week from the federal government, starting next week, said Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the R.I. Department of Health, on Wednesday.
“Part of this is an actual increase in Pfizer [Inc.] vaccine,” she said. “Part of this is Pfizer made a change that allowed six doses to be drawn from a vial that we were previously getting five doses from.”
At the beginning of the vaccine rollout, the state had been getting only 14,500 first doses a week. When asked whether the state could count on the increased amount, or if it should anticipate fluctuations, Alexander-Scott said: “Everything is dynamic in this response. We are taking what we have and we are going to move forward with that. And will make sure we have the capacity to expand out in the hopes we will get more updates like that.”
The centralized registration and fixed, centralized sites for the inoculations will allow the state to make the distribution much faster, she said. Starting Monday, the state will begin taking appointments for Rhode Islanders aged 65 or older, signaling a move into Phase 2 of its distribution.
The state has two central locations, at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in downtown Providence and at Sockanosett Cross Road in Cranston. Initially, about 900 appointments a day will be available at Sockanosett, the Department of Health said. About 500 appointments will be available a day at the Dunk. Those slots are anticipated to double in the next several weeks, according to the department spokesman.
When people receive their first doses, they will then schedule their second dose of the vaccine, she said. The state will make sure that there will be enough for those doses, for full vaccination, which have to be administered within a few weeks of the first shot.
The vaccine registration website, at www.VaccineRI.org, and the automated phone line, at 1-844-930-1779, were launched on Wednesday morning. In coming weeks, the phone line will have a person answering it, rather than automated prompts.
The state has received criticism for the lack of a centralized process, unlike neighboring states such as Massachusetts and Connecticut.
By next month, Alexander-Scott said the state anticipates moving registration for the town and city vaccination sites to the state’s central website as well. Vaccinations through CVS and Walgreen’s and other pharmacies would continue to be done through their retail websites.
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
