PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Health continues to remind people who are eligible for the monkeypox vaccine to sign up for its monkeypox vaccine interest notification list.
People who add their names to the confidential list will be notified when vaccines become available at community clinics.
Information on registration for the list can be found here.
Vaccination clinics are scheduled for Sept. 2 and 3, and more will be scheduled in the coming weeks, the department says.
“While the risk of monkeypox for most Rhode Islanders is low, people who are eligible to be vaccinated because they are at higher risk should get vaccinated. Through the Monkeypox Vaccine Interest Notification List, you will get a direct communication, either through email or text, about vaccine availability,” said Interim Director of Health Dr. Utpala Bandy. “Given the national shortage of monkeypox vaccine, this is the quickest way to access vaccine as soon as it comes into Rhode Island.”
In addition to clinics run by the state, health facilities, including Open Door Health, The Miriam Hospital Infectious Disease Clinic and Thundermist Health Center, have limited supplies of the monkeypox vaccine.
People who are close contacts of someone with monkeypox, and men who are 18 or older who have sex with men, are eligible for the vaccine.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer
