Elvin Toro, 26, a former army medic, organizes his syringes before giving out the next doses to a local resident at Central Falls High School in Central Falls, Rhode Island, on February 13, 2021. – The city of Central Falls is currently offering Covid-19 vaccinations to any adult 18 years and older in contrast to the rest of the state which is following state guidelines and offering only to certain groups, frontline workers and people 75 years old and older. According to the US Census bureau, Central Falls is made up of over 66% Hispanic and almost 13% Black residents. “Everybody that lives or works here is a priority, if we don’t fix the problem, where the problem is. We are just going to continue spreading this disease,” said Mayor Maria Rivera.
Rhode Island residents age 60 to 64 and anyone over the age of 16 with a specific underlying health condition became eligible to sign up for a coronavirus vaccine Friday, state health officials said.
"Our goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, and opening eligibility to this next group of Rhode Islanders is an important and encouraging step toward that goal,'' Gov. Daniel McKee said in a statement. "We will continue to build out and increase our state's vaccination capacity to ensure we are prepared to get shots in arms when the vaccine supply increases.''
The underlying health conditions that make residents eligible for a shot include diabetes and lung, heart or kidney disease. Residents with a weakened immune system are also eligible.
New appointments at Rhode Island's state-run mass vaccination sites will be added to www.VaccinateRI.org beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday. Walgreens and CVS expect to adjust their eligibility criteria to take appointments for people in these two groups on Friday.
In addition to retail pharmacies and the three state-run vaccination sites, Rhode Islanders can sign up for a shot at one of 30 local vaccination sites and through hospital systems.
