PROVIDENCE (AP) – Coronavirus testing at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in downtown Providence is ending Friday and the sports arena will eventually be converted into a mass vaccination site, a state health official said.
“We have built out our testing infrastructure significantly over the last several months,” state Department of Health spokesperson Joseph Wendelken said in an email to WPRI-TV. “We have testing sites all throughout Rhode Island at this point, so we decided that this will be the best use of this space going forward. We want these large, state-run sites to be as accessible as possible.”
Vaccinations won’t be available at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center right away.
The state plans to open five to 10 state-run vaccination sites to supplement pharmacy and local vaccination clinics, department Director Nicole Alexander-Scott said Thursday.
“We don’t expect these state-run locations to be open until a little later this month, when we will have the vaccine needed to run these mass vaccination sites,” Wendelken said.
Testing will still be available at other sites in the city, including at the adjacent Rhode Island Convention Center.
