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.
