Responding to the public request for COVID-19 vaccination sites that are closer to home, Rhode Island will be running approximately 100 COVID-19 vaccination clinics in settings such as schools, churches, senior centers, and many other community sites over the next month. These clinics are in addition to the vaccination opportunities in pharmacies and the offices of many primary care providers.
A list of community clinics can be found at: covid.ri.gov/vaccination. COVID-19 booster doses are available at many of these clinics. All Rhode Islanders who are 18 and older and who completed a primary COVID-19 vaccination series should get a booster dose. (If you got Pfizer or Moderna for your primary series, you can get a booster dose at least six months later. If you got Johnson & Johnson for your primary series, you can get a booster dose at least two months later.)
As a part of this shift to community located vaccination opportunities, operations at Rhode Island's remaining State-run and municipal-run vaccination sites will wind down. The last day of vaccinating at Sockanosset Cross Road (100 Sockanosset Cross Road, Cranston) will be December 18th, and the last day for regular operations at the East Providence vaccination site (585 Taunton Avenue, East Providence) will be December 29th. The vaccination site at Sockanosset has administered approximately 211,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since opening in January 2021, and the East Providence site has administered approximately 21,000 doses since opening in May 2021.
Vaccination provides protection against serious COVID-19 illness. Pairing vaccination with other prevention measures, such as testing, masking, ventilation, and physical distancing, is key to preventing COVID-19 transmission in Rhode Island.
State-run and municipal-run vaccination sites, like those in East Providence, Cranston, Middletown, and in Providence at the Dunkin Donuts Center, were established early in the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out to support a surge in demand and to help vaccinate as many Rhode Islanders as possible as quickly as possible. Similar to planned shifts in testing strategy, Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)'s vaccination strategy is focused on supporting vaccination at the local level and returning some of these activities to pre-pandemic providers. Since October 1st, retail pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, and Stop & Shop have administered approximately 65% of COVID-19 vaccine doses to Rhode Islanders. Pharmacies continue to be extremely important partners in vaccine administration and will play a significant role moving forward.
All COVID-19 vaccination options will continue to be available at C19VaccineRI.org. Schedules and appointments for these vaccination sites will continue to be available at vaccinateRI.org. Rhode Islanders can continue to call the COVID-19 information line (401-222-8022) or 2-1-1 for information about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines.