Shekarchi appoints bipartisan House task force for vaccine distribution

SPEAKER-NOMINEE K. Joseph Shekarchi announced Tuesday a bipartisan House of Representatives task force to oversee the state's implementation of COVID-19 vaccine distribution. / COURTESY CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
A NEW STUDY says as many as 300,000 COVID-19 cases around the world can be traced to a two-day biotech meeting at a hotel in downtown Boston last February. COURTESY CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

PROVIDENCE – R.I. House of Representatives Speaker-nominee K. Joseph Shekarchi, D-Warwick, announced Tuesday a bipartisan House task force to oversee the state’s implementation of COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

The purpose of the task force, according to the announcement, is to ensure that Rhode Island’s distribution of the vaccine is done in a “timely manner,” following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The stakes are very high here, and we need to do our absolute best with getting this vaccine to our population as quickly as possible. This is a time to come together, to work swiftly and carefully, and ensure that we vaccinate in a way that protects the most people and the most at-risk people as soon as we can,” said Shekarchi. “Distribution of the vaccine will doubtlessly be complicated by the fact that it is coming out the midst of a surge that is already pushing the limits of our health care system and those incredibly dedicated professionals who work in it, as well as our communities.”

This newly announced task force is similar to the 16-member subcommittee of the state’s established Vaccine Advisory Committee within the R.I. Department of Health that Gov. Gina M. Raimondo had previously announced in early October. The members of the subcommittee are made up of doctors, pharmacists, epidemiologists, and community and nonprofit leaders that all have a sole focus of developing a distribution plan and then providing it to Rhode Islanders safety and effectively.

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House leadership spokesman Larry Berman said this new task force by Shekarchi is not meant to replace RIDOH’s, but be an additional supplement that is focused on ensuring that the vaccine is distributed to Rhode Island’s underserved population.

When asked if this new task force was to help keep RIDOH’s subcommittee held accountable, Berman said that will be part of the task force’s role, especially when distributing the vaccine to Rhode Island’s most vulnerable. However, he said the task force hopes to work in conjunction with RIDOH’s subcommittee and have these meetings be more about “information gathering.”

“This task force is to support everyone involved, to help address hurdles and ultimately to protect the health of Rhode Islanders and get us to the other side of this pandemic as soon as possible,” said Shekarchi.

Berman said Shekarchi wanted to be sure to have representatives from some of Rhode Island’s hardest hit communities by the virus, such as Providence and Central Falls. Shekarchi also approached Minority Leader Blake A. Filippi, R-New Shoreham, to ask for two of his picks from House Republicans, to which he nominated Rep. Michael W. Chippendale, R-Coventry, and Rep. David J. Place, R-Burrillville, both of which will serve on the task force.

The first meeting of the task force will take place virtually on Dec. 2 at 3:00 p.m. with Dr. Michael Fine, chief health strategist for the city of Central Falls and senior clinical and population health services officer of Blackstone Valley Community Health Care Inc.

Dr. Fine also served as the director of RIDOH from 2011 to 2015.

The task force is expected to meet twice more in December and will continue to meet in 2021. Berman said the task force extended an invitation to both Pfizer Inc. and CVS Health Corp.for the second meeting to discuss how Rhode Island will participate in Pfizer’s pilot program, something that both Raimondo and RIDOH said is “good news” for Rhode Islanders. Berman said some House members will have questions for CVS regarding the company’s distribution plan.

The third task force meeting, Berman said, will have a representative from RIDOH on the call. He said it could be RIDOH Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott or Dr. Philip Chan, consultant medical director for the division of preparedness, response, infectious disease and emergency medical services at RIDOH.

The task force will be chaired by Rep. Raymond A. Hull, D-Providence.

Other members of the task force include:

  • Rep. Karen Alzate, D-Pawtucket
  • Rep. Michael W. Chippendale, R-Coventry
  • Rep. Kathleen A. Fogarty, D-South Kingstown
  • Rep. Joshua J. Giraldo, D-Central Falls
  • Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, D-South Kingstown
  • Representative-elect Michelle E. McGaw, D-Portsmouth
  • Rep. Mary Duffy Messier, D-Pawtucket
  • Rep. Thomas E. Noret, D-Coventry
  • Rep. David J. Place, R-Burrillville

Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Gagosz@PBN.com. You may also follow her on Twitter at @AlexaGagosz.

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