Health officials this week made preparations to vaccinate about 5,000 EMS employees, police officers, firefighters and home carers and hospice employees. Eventually, they took down registration links and canceled hundreds of appointments after discovering that people who are not eligible at this stage of implementation have made appointments for vaccinations, she said. Health officials work with the vendor to make sure there are checkpoints so people can not cheat the system.
“Demand for the vaccine is clearly high and people are willing to put others aside to get themselves and their loved ones vaccinated,” Mihalakos told a news conference on Tuesday. “We understand everyone’s concerns, and we understand that there are a lot of people at the front of the queue, and we have limited amounts of vaccine.”
As of Tuesday, Rhode Island had received 46,000 doses of the vaccine, and more than 26,000 people had been vaccinated, Dr. Philip Chan, an infectious disease expert at the Health Department’s Division of Preparedness, Response, Infectious Diseases and Emergency Medical Services. . There were no reports that Rhode Islanders had adverse side effects due to the vaccine, he said.
However, Rhode Island receives fewer vaccine doses than the roughly 17,000 a week he had originally hoped for just a month ago, Chan said.
At this rate, it will take a while to reach the entire state, ‘he said.
Tricia Washburn, head of the Preventive Services Center of the Health Department and co-leader of the vaccine working group, said the state could get more weekly doses within two months. The federal government has purchased an additional dose of $ 100 million and with other possible vaccine candidates that could be approved, Rhode Island and other states could get a boost, she said.
For the time being, however, the expectation of Rhode Islanders with the highest risk for COVID-19 is expected to last several months.
This week, the state continues to bring in hospital staff and patients at Eleanor Slater Hospital, medical staff and high-risk correctional officers and inmates at the correctional facilities for adults, residents and staff of nursing homes, and residents of Central Falls, the small print te ent. city that carried most of the pandemic.
In general, health officials said the vaccine was received enthusiastically. Mihalakos said that the care institutions – the prison and old age homes – are eager to get the vaccine.
Chan said at the hospitals, ‘there’s a lot of excitement. People chirp. ‘
Amanda Milkovits can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @AmandaMilkovits.