For information about COVID-19 vaccinations visit C19vaccineRI.org. A list of Rhode Island’s state-run test sites and their holiday hours is available here.

The Latest

• Rhode Island will offer community based COVID-19 vaccination clinics Thursday, Jan. 27 in Barrington, Providence, Coventry, Lincoln, Narragansett, New Shoreham, Scituate, South Kingstown, and East Greenwich. To register, visit C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.” More information about COVID-19 vaccination locations can be found at C19VaccineRI.org. Posted 01/26/2022

• Rhode Island Hospital officials say they expect staffing shortages to continue into March and will request that U.S. military medical troops remain at the hospital beyond the 30-day mission. Twenty-three troops last week began a month-long stint at Rhode Island Hospital, working in the emergency department, intensive care unit, and medical surgical units. Another 19-person military team at Kent Hospital in Warwick; the troops are expected to stay until the end of January. Read the full story here. Posted 01/26/2022 

• A coalition that includes nursing home employees, labor unions, seniors, women and immigrants is asking Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee to rescind his Jan. 21 executive order lifting the minimum mandatory staffing requirements for nursing homes until mid-February due to the pandemic related staffing shortages. In a Jan. 25 letter to McKee, the Raise the Bar on Resident Care coalition says that the executive order not only delays the implementation of the Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act, which McKee signed into law in May 2001, it also reduces existing staffing standards in Rhode Island. The only way to end the nursing home staffing shortage, the letter said, is to raise wages and improve working conditions. The average nursing assistant in Rhode Island earns $13.24/hour or $25,420 a year. Read the full letter here. 01/25/2022

• Rhode Island will offer community based COVID-19 vaccination clinics Tuesday, Jan. 25 in Providence, Newport, Woonsocket, Little Compton and Westerly. To register, visit C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.” The COVID-19 vaccine also is available at state vaccination sites including the Rhode Island Convention Center and Sockanosset Cross Road, in many healthcare providers’ offices and pharmacies. More information about COVID-19 vaccination locations can be found at C19VaccineRI.org. 01/24/2022

• Rhode Island nursing homes can operate with less than the state’s mandatory minimum staffing without facing penalties under an executive order signed last Friday by Governor Dan McKee. The order temporarily lifts the requirements of the Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act, which McKee signed into law in May 2001. Nursing homes are facing critical staffing shortages and facilities would have to reduce the number of patients they care for, the order says, in order to meet the required staff to resident ratio. The order expires on Feb. 14 unless it is renewed.  Posted 01/24/2022

• Rhode Island’s deputy state health director who was appointed by former Governor Gina M. Raimondo to lead the state’s the COVID-19 response will be stepping down at the end of this month, health officials confirmed Thursday. Thomas McCarthy’s departure comes a week after state health director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott resigned. McCarthy , a career Army officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, told The Boston Globe that it was his decision to leave and that in March he will be starting a new job at United Us, a technology company that builds care networks of health and social service providers. 01/20/2022

• For the first time, all Americans can log on to a government website and order free, at-home COVID-19 tests. But The Associated Press reports that the White House push may do little to ease the omicron surge, and experts say Washington will have to do a lot more to fix the country’s long-troubled testing system. The website, COVIDTests.gov, allows people to order four at-home tests per household and have them delivered by mail. But the tests won’t arrive for seven to 12 days, after omicron is expected to peak in Rhode Island and many other parts of the country. Read the full story here. Posted 01/19/2022

• Rhode Island will hold community based COVID-19 vaccination clinics on Thursday, Jan. 20 in Central Falls, Barrington, Warren, Lincoln, Wakefield, Westerly, New Shoreham, Providence, and Saunderstown. To register, visit C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.” More information about COVID-19 vaccination locations can be found at C19VaccineRI.org.01/19/2022

• Rhode Island recorded 13,572 new COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths since state health officials reported the data on Jan. 14, before the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend. On Monday, the state reported 2,482 new cases, and 12 deaths from the previous day. The seven-day positivity rate is 20.10%, the lowest since in two weeks. On Monday, two out of three key indicators – cases and the positivity rate - were pointing down, a possible signal that the surge is plateauing. However, the average number of new hospital admissions this week rose to 552, compared with 496 last week. 01/18/2022

• Rhode Island will hold community based COVID-19 vaccination clinics Wednesday, Jan. 19 in East Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Providence, and Smithfield. To register, visit C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.” The COVID-19 vaccine also is available at state-run sites including the Rhode Island Convention Center and Sockanosset Cross Road, as well as in some health care providers’ offices and pharmacies throughout Rhode Island. For more information about COVID-19 vaccination locations go to C19VaccineRI.org. Posted 01/14/2022

• Rhode Island will distribute about 500,000 COVID-19 rapid tests over the next week to cities and towns and community-based organizations, Gov. Dan McKee’s offices announced Friday. About 350,000 of the tests will be distributed to cities and towns based on their population size. Municipal leaders are expected to have the tests by mid-week and then determine where they will be available. The other 150,000 tests are being distributed to about 30 community groups, including faith-based and cultural organizations and local housing authorities. To ensure that the tests are delivered to people most in need, who may not otherwise be able to purchase them, the organizations will be doing direct outreach to their communities. Posted 01/14/2022

• Rhode Island will hold community based COVID-19 vaccination clinics Friday, Jan. 14 in Providence, North Kingstown, Portsmouth, and Warwick. Registration is recommended for these clinics. To register, visit  C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.” More information about COVID-19 vaccination locations can be found at C19VaccineRI.org. Posted 01/13/2022

• Rhode Island Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott is stepping down from her post, leaving a major leadership hole at a time when the state's health care system is straining under the pandemic’s latest wave. Read the full story here. Posted 01/13/2022

• Rhode Island is one of six states that will be receiving medical military personnel to help alleviate staffing shortages in hospitals, President Joseph Biden announced Thursday. A 23-member medical team of doctors, nurses, medics and other support staff from the Department of Defense are expected to be deployed to Rhode Island as early as next week. Read the full story here. Posted 01/13/2022

• Record numbers of patients from Massachusetts’ least vaccinated city are overwhelming local emergency rooms, nearly nine months after a vaccine that largely prevents severe cases became publicly available. Read the full story here. Posted 01/13/2022

• Rhode Island’s health director is asking residents to only get tested for COVID-19 when it's really necessary in order to ensure there are enough tests for people who are sick. “It's extremely important that we have testing availability for people who have symptoms,’’ Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said at a briefing on Wednesday. “That's what allows those who qualify to then go and get access to treatment so that they can stay out of the hospitals.” Rhode Island continues to rank among the top in the country for Covid testing per capita. But as the Omicron variant surges in Rhode Island, the national testing shortage is straining its testing capacity. People who do not work in a healthcare or congregate care setting, Alexander-Scott said, only need to get tested if they have symptoms or if they have had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. For more information visit covid.ri.gov. Posted 01/12/2022

• Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee announced plans on Wednesday to deploy the National Guard to a psychiatric hospital in Providence and expand emergency licensing for nursing school graduates to help relieve hospital staffing shortages throughout the state. The 60 National Guard members to be deployed to Butler Hospital, operated by Care New England, will help increase capacity, McKee said, by allowing the private psychiatric hospital to accept patient transfers of non-critical patients from other hospital emergency departments. Read the full story here.  Posted 01/12/2022

• Rhode Island will hold community based COVID-19 vaccination clinics Wednesday, Jan. 12 in Little Compton, Johnston, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Providence, and Warwick. Registration is recommended for these clinics. To register, visit C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.” More information about COVID-19 vaccination locations can be found at C19VaccineRI.org Posted 01/112022

• A forecasting model from a Brown University epidemiologist predicts that Rhode Island will see record high COVID-19 cases and hospitalization as early as this week. The number of people hospitalized with the virus are expected to climb by another 50 to 60 new cases per day, reaching beyond last winter’s peak of 513 hospitalizations. Read and listen to the full report here. Posted 01/112022

• The National Education Association Rhode Island is calling on schools in the state to move to distance learning until at least early next week. Union officials say COVID transmission levels are too high, too many staff members and students are out sick, and there aren’t enough masks and tests available. NEARI President Larry Purtill said the safe thing is for schools to go remote, and he says the state should give individual districts more flexibility to make that decision. "Any school that can't provide adequate staffing, masking and tests should go to distance learning," Purtill said. "It's difficult, but health and safety has to come first." Posted 01/10/2022

• Rhode Island is not the only state that has allowed health care workers who tested positive for COVID-19 to work in hospitals with severe staffing shortages. The Associated Press reports that health officials across the country are increasingly taking the extraordinary step of allowing nurses and other workers with the coronavirus to stay on the job if they have mild symptoms or none at all. Read the full story here. Posted 01/10/2022

• Rhode Island will require all visitors at nursing homes and assisted living facilities to be vaccinated or provide proof of a COVID-19 test. The new regulations, effective Monday, Jan. 10, also require all visitors to wear masks in nursing homes and assisted living facilities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. For visitors who opt to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, it must either have a negative rapid test within the previous 48 hours or a negative PCR test within the previous 72 hours. Posted 01/10/2022

• Rhode Island will hold community based COVID-19 vaccination clinics Tuesday, Jan. 11, in Providence, Pawtucket, Tiverton, and Westerly. Registration is recommended for these clinics. To register visit C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.” More information about COVID-19 vaccination locations can be found at C19VaccineRI.org.Posted 01/10/2022

• As of Monday, Rhode Island had recorded nearly 11,400 new positive cases of COVID-19 and 13 new virus-related deaths since the state reported the data last Friday, Jan. 7. More than one-in-five people who were tested for COVID-19 during the last seven days – 22.3% – tested positive for the virus, state health data shows. The number is likely lower than the actual rate, since it does not include home-testing. The latest three-day average for Covid-related hospitalizations is 440, nearly identical to what it was a year ago, state health data shows. Posted 01/10/2022

• Rhode Island’s surge in COVID-19 cases is forecast to peak this week, at roughly 6,500 cases in a single day, followed by “steady, significant declines” during the coming weeks, Joseph Wendelken, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, said. Hospitalizations, which tend to lag cases, also are expected to peak during the third week of January, followed by a parallel decline, he said. Though the Omicron variant is even more contagious than Delta, it so far has resulted in less severe illnesses, in part due to high vaccination rates. Posted 01/09/2022

• A new state-run COVID-19 test will open on Monday morning at the Woonsocket Elks Lodge. T Thundermist Health Center staff will continue to operate a test site in their parking lot. The Woonsocket Elks lodge test site at 380 Social St. will be open Monday - Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (12 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on January 7 due to inclement weather) Appointments are required. The site will offer both rapid antigen and PCR testing. Posted 01/09/2022

• The Rhode Island Convention Center will open for testing and COVID-19 vaccinations starting Friday, Jan. 7. Testing will be available at the convention center’s ticket booth. COVID-19 vaccinations will be available on the ground floor lobby. The site will offer Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer for 12+, and Pfizer pediatric (for ages 5-11). Appointments on Jan. 7 will be limited, but will expand starting next week. Vaccinations will be available 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Expanded hours for vaccinations will begin on Tuesday, January 11. Vaccinations will be available Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments are strongly encouraged. Sign up at vaccinateri.org. Posted 01/09/2022

• Gov. Dan McKee signed an executive order Thursday allowing remote participation in public meetings to guard against the spread of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19. The order, in effect until Feb. 4, followed a standoff between McKee and state legislative leaders over allowing remote participation in meetings of public bodies, including the legislature, according to The Providence Journal. ACCESS/RI, a coalition of open government organizations, urged McKee in a Dec. 21 letter to reinstate an executive order to allow remote meetings of public bodies while requiring live-streaming and permitting people to participate remotely. Posted 01/09/2022

• Rhode Island is scheduled to hold community based COVID-19 vaccination clinics Thursday in Wakefield and East Providence. Registration is recommended for these clinics. To register, visit C19VaccineRI.org and click “Upcoming Community Vaccination Clinics.” More information about COVID-19 vaccination locations can be found at C19VaccineRI.org. Posted 01/05/2022

• The waiting time for Rhode Islanders to receive booster doses after completing two Pfizer doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has been reduced in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health officials said Thursday. Rhode Island is now making the Pfizer boosted doses available to people five months after they complete their primary Pfizer vaccine series, the Department of Health said in a statement. Previously, the wait time was at least six months. The CDC’s recommended waiting period for boosters for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (two months) or the Moderna vaccine (six months) remains unchanged. Posted 01/05/2022

• Rhode Island children ages 5 to 11 who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are now eligible to receive a third dose of vaccine 28 days after their second dose, state health officials said. The state is following the recommendations of the CDC to consider this third dose part of the primary vaccine series, as is done for moderately or severely immunocompromised adults. Because Pfizer is the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use by people 5 or older, these children only qualify for a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Posted 01/05/2022

• Rhode Island children ages 5 to 11 who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are now eligible to receive a third dose of vaccine 28 days after their second dose, state health officials said. The state is following the recommendations of the CDC to consider this third dose part of the primary vaccine series, as is done for moderately or severely immunocompromised adults. Because Pfizer is the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use by people 5 or older, these childThe waiting time for Rhode Islanders to receive booster doses after completing two Pfizer doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has been reduced in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health officials said Thursday. Rhode Island is now making the Pfizer boosted doses available to people five months after they complete their primary Pfizer vaccine series, the Department of Health said in a statement. Previously, the wait time was at least six months. The CDC’s recommended waiting period for boosters for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (two months) or the Moderna vaccine (six months) remains unchanged. Posted 01/05/2022

• Rhode Island’s largest hospital system on Monday temporarily suspended most non-essential surgical procedures at The Miriam and Newport hospitals, a Lifespan spokeswoman said. Lifespan suspended all “non-essential” surgical procedures last week at Rhode Island Hospital to free up inpatient beds and staff as COVID-19 cases spike. The moves come as the state’s hospitals face a mounting staffing crisis. (Read more here.) Posted 01/04/2022

• Hospital staffing shortages in Rhode Island have prompted state health officials to adopt new federal guidance allowing healthcare workers infected by COVID-19 to continue to work if hospitals or nursing homes are experiencing a crisis level of care – a move blasted by the state’s unionized nurses. Since the state adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance, one hospital - Eleanor Slater Hospital in Cranston - has permitted two workers who tested positive for COVID-19 to each work one day last weekend, Joseph Wendelken, a department spokesman, confirmed Tuesday. The workers were masked and hospital administrators told the department they would try to have them care only for COVID-19 positive patients, Wendelken said in an email. The United Nurses & Allied Professionals Local 5110, which represents more than 7,000 nurses and health professionals, said that allowing COVID-positive employees to work risks spreading the virus to other workers and vulnerable patients, and could ultimately exacerbate the staffing shortages by infecting more workers who then become sick and are forced to quarantine. Posted 01/04/2022

• Rhode Island will make more than 3,200 COVID-19 tests available at seven state-run test sites on New Year’s Day, as demand for testing continues to soar. The decision to open tests sites on the holiday is aimed at “increasing access to testing, vaccination, and boosters for Rhode Islanders,’’ Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement. He said the state also is working to support municipal leaders in “reactivating and expanding” local testing and vaccination sites in their communities. Go to portal.ri.gov to book an appointment at one of the following state-run sites. Posted 12/31/2021

• Rhode Island health officials are projecting a surge in coronavirus cases into January, as the more contagious Omicron variant spreads. Rhode Island’s rise on COVID-19 cases could continue “through the middle or end of January that could well exceed the peak of what we have ever experienced through the entire pandemic,’’ Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the state health director, said at a briefing Thursday. Rhode Island health officials reported more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases per day on three days this week. Only about 10% of new cases in Rhode Island are due to the Omicron variant, Alexander-Scott said. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of Dec. 25 about 59% of all new U.S. infections were caused by Omicron, which was down from the CDC’s earlier estimates of 73%. Posted 12/31/2021

• Rhode Island’s mass vaccination site at the Convention Center in Providence that has been closed since June will reopen for COVID-19 vaccinations and testing, Gov. Dan McKee said at a briefing Thursday. The convention center site could reopen during the week of Jan. 10, McKee said. In addition to vaccinations and boosters, the center will offer COVID-19 tests in response to a record public demand for testing that state health officials said has resulted in delays of three or four days or longer for PCR test results. Previously, the average turnaround time was 48 hours. The state Department of Health also has contracted with a New Jersey laboratory, state officials said, to help increase capacity to improve test turnaround times. PCR test results should be available within 48 hours again, they said, starting next week. Posted 12/30/2021.

• The Rhode Island Department of Health reports COVID-19 testing levels have reached their highest on record. The department is "strongly recommending" that residents not required to get a PCR test seek a rapid test instead, the department said this week in a Twitter post, in order to help quicken test result turnaround times as the state works to increase its lab capacity. Posted 12/29/2021

• Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos said she has tested positive for COVID-19 and credits her “very few symptoms” to being fully vaccinated and boosted, according to a post Tuesday on her official Twitter page. Matos said in the post that she is continuing to work while in quarantine, keeping in touch with her staff and participating in meetings virtually. Matos encouraged all Rhode Islanders to get their booster shots. Posted 12/28/2021

• Federal health officials’ decision to shorten the recommended COVID-19 isolation and quarantine period from 10 days to five is drawing criticism from some medical experts and could create confusion among many Americans, the Associated Press reported. To the dismay of some authorities, the new guidelines released Dec. 27 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allow people to leave isolation without getting tested to determine if they are still infectious. (Read the full story here.) Posted 12/28/2021

• Rhode Island’s largest hospital system will begin requiring all visitors to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative PCR test for the virus starting on Monday, Dec. 27. Visitors to all Lifespan hospitals will need to show a picture ID along with proof of vaccination or results of a negative PCR test for COVID-19 administered within 48 hours of their visit, Lifespan said Thursday. Exceptions will be permitted for end-of-life visitation, escorts for patients with disabilities and in “other designated circumstances at the discretion of the clinical care team,’’ Lifespan said in a statement. Lifespan operates Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro Children's Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Newport Hospital and Bradley Hospital. (More information about Lifespan’s new visitation policy.) Posted 12/22/2021

• Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee directed that state flags be flown at half-staff on all state buildings and facilities starting Tuesday until sunset on Wednesday to mark the 3,000 lives lost in the state to COVID-19. McKee called on residents to “roll up your sleeves for your fellow Rhode Islanders’’ and get vaccinated and boosted against the virus. As of Tuesday, just over 77% of all residents have completed their primary vaccinations against the virus, and about 25% have received booster doses, state health data shows. Posted 12/21/2021

• Rhode Island’s mass COVID-19 vaccination site in Cranston that was scheduled to close last Saturday will remain open through the end of December. Rhode Island health officials said they will keep the state-run site at 100 Sockanosset Cross Rd., Cranston open to help expand access to vaccinations and booster doses to combat rising infection rates. To schedule an appointment to get vaccinated go to C19vaccineRI.org. You can also call the state’s COVID-19 vaccine appointment line at 844-930-1779. Posted 12/20/2021

• Rhode Island has opened a new COVID-19 rapid testing site in Cranston. The new, state-run site at the Chapel View Shopping Center which opened Monday is part of an effort by the state to expand rapid COVID-19 testing in advance of the holidays, state health officials said in a statement Monday. Additional new rapid testing sites are expected to open in the coming weeks, health officials said. The Chapel View testing site will be open for rapid testing seven days a week by appointment only. To schedule an appointment go to portal.ri.gov. Posted 12/20/2021

• Federal health officials are endorsing “test-to-stay” policies that allow close contacts of students infected with the coronavirus to remain in classrooms if they test negative, the Associated Press reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday decided to more firmly embrace the approach, after research of such policies in Chicago and Los Angeles areas found COVID-19 infections did not increase when schools switched to test-to-stay. The endorsement comes as Rhode Island Governor Dan Mckee announced this week the expansion of Rhode Island’s test-to-stay programs in public schools in Smithfield, North Smithfield, Barrington and Tiverton, and two charter schools: Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy in Cumberland and The Learning Community in Central Falls. Posted 12/17/2021

• A panel of advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that most Americans get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot, the Associated Press reports. The J&J vaccine can cause rare but serious blood clots that have caused nine confirmed deaths, while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don’t come with those risks and also appear to be more effective, the advisers to the CDC said Thursday. The CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, must decide whether to accept the panel’s advice. Until now, the U.S. has treated all three COVID-19 vaccines available to Americans as an equal choice, since large studies found they all offered strong protection and early supplies were limited. Posted 12/16/2021

• Rhode Island will require everyone, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks inside venues with a capacity of 250 people or more starting Monday. Restaurants, retailers, places of worship and other establishments with a capacity of under 250 people can allow patrons to go unmasked if they show proof that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Governor Dan McKee announced the new rules Wednesday to try to curb the virus which is straining the state’s hospitals. (Read the full story here.) Posted 12/15/2021

• Rhode Island residents who get PCR tests for COVID-19 at state-run clinics should expect to wait three or four days for their test results, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health confirmed Tuesday. Previously the turnaround time for COVID-19 tests for the general public was about 48 hours. The virus’ surge since Thanksgiving coupled with outbreaks at nursing homes and in schools has resulted in “tremendous testing volume” that is straining the state laboratory, Joseph Wendelken, the department spokesman, said. The seven-day average number of COVID-19 tests performed as of Dec. 7 was up nearly 45% compared with the first week of November, state data shows. The state has continued to prioritize testing for nursing homes and schools, Wendleken said, providing those results within 24 hours. State health officials are exploring ways to increase the turn-around time, he said, by using private labs to expand testing capacity. Posted 12/15/2021

• About 76% of all Rhode Islanders are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but the state still has one of the nation’s highest virus infection rates. The current surge is fueled by the 24% of residents who are unvaccinated and the “significantly low booster vaccine rate,” Dr. Elizabeth Lange, president of the Rhode Island Medical Society, said Tuesday. Only 30% of eligible residents, she said, have received booster doses. Lange, who is a pediatrician, says that children represent about 49% of the new COVID-19 cases, and though they are not necessarily sicker they are passing the virus along to more vulnerable adults. Lange and other medical society members urged residents at a news conference to get vaccinated, boosted and wear masks indoors to curb the spread of the more contagious Delta and Omicron variants of COVID-19. Posted 12/14/2021

• Massachusetts is distributing more than 2 million at-home COVID-19 tests to high-risk communities in an effort to curb the spread of the virus ahead of the holidays, the Associated Press reported. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced Monday that the 2.1 million over-the-counter rapid COVID-19 tests will be sent to 102 communities -- including Fall River and New Bedford -- with the highest percentage of families living below the poverty level, according to a list posted on the state’s website. The iHealth Labs COVID-19 rapid antigen tests can be done at home and completed with 15 minutes. Anyone age 2 or older can use the tests, regardless of vaccination status or whether or not they have symptoms, according to the website. For more information, Massachusetts residents can visit www.mass.gov/gettested. Posted 12/13/2021

• Rhode Island has identified the first case of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant. The variant was identified in a resident of Providence County in their 20s who recently returned from traveling in New York, Governor Daniel J. McKee and state health officials said in a statement released Saturday. The individual had completed a primary vaccination series but had no record of a booster shot. Contact tracing on the case is ongoing, the statement said. The case was identified through the ongoing genomic surveillance program coordinated by the department’s State Health Laboratories. Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the state Department of Health, said the findings were “not at all surprising” and said they underscore the need for Rhode Islanders to take precautions to protect themselves and their families. “Vaccination, booster doses, mask wearing, testing, socially distancing, and ventilation are all critical to minimizing the spread of any variant of COVID-19,” she said. For more information on where to get vaccinated against COVID-19 visit covid.ri.gov/vaccination. Posted 12/12/2021

• Rhode Island is making COVID-19 vaccine booster doses available to 16- and 17-year-olds. Previously booster doses had only been available to eligible residents 18 and older. The move comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday expanded booster recommendations to people 16 and 17 years old, saying initial data suggests they “help broaden and strengthen the protection against Omicron and other variants.” Currently only the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster is authorized for 16- and 17-year-olds. Anyone who is 16 or 17 years old who received a Pfizer or Moderna primary series vaccine is eligible for a Pfizer booster six months later; those who received a Johnson & Johnson vaccine can get a Pfizer booster two months later, state health officials said. For more information visit C19vaccineRI.org. Posted 12/09/2021

• A recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island prompted the state’s largest hospital group and a physicians organization this week to support a mandatory indoor mask mandate, a measure that Governor Daniel J. McKee has far expressed reluctance to impose. Lifespan “fully supports a mandatory indoor mask mandate to stem the spread of Covid-19,’’ Jane Bruno, a Lifespan spokeswoman, said in an email. Emergency departments are straining to care for the rise in COVID-19 cases amidst a national nursing shortage that is leaving hospitals short-staffed, Lifespan physicians said during a media briefing Thursday. The Rhode Island Medical Society also supports an indoor mask mandate to curb the virus’ spread. On Friday, New York imposed an indoor mask mandate effective Dec. 13 to Jan. 15. Posted 12/09/2021

• Rhode Island’s only remaining state-run COVID-19 vaccination site will close Dec. 18 and another 100 community based vaccination clinics are scheduled to open during the next month, state officials announced Wednesday. The closure of the mass vaccination clinic 100 Sockanosset Cross Rd. , Cranston is part of a shift to community-based vaccination sites in response to public requests for access to the vaccinations “closer to home,” the state Department of Health said in a statement. A municipal-run vaccination clinic at 585 Taunton Ave., East Providence also is scheduled to close Dec. 29. For a list of the new COVID-19 vaccination clinic in schools, churches, senior centers and other community sites visit covid.ri.gov/vaccination. COVID-19 booster doses also are available at many of these clinics. The state’s other two mass vaccination sites -- at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence and in a former Benny’s store in Middletown -- closed in late June. To schedule an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination visit vaccinateRI.org. Posted 12/08/2021

• The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Massachusetts, the state’s public health officials announced Nov. 4. Genetic sequencing identified the variant in a female in her 20s who lives in Middlesex County who had traveled out of state, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said in a statement released Saturday. The sequencing was performed at New England Biolabs. While Omicron is classified as a “variant of concern” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, the statement said, scientists are still working to determine how its transmissibility and disease severity compares with the predominant Delta variant. All three COVID-19 vaccines used in the U.S. have been shown to be highly protective against severe disease resulting in hospitalization or death due to known COVID-19 variants. In Rhode Island, so far the Omicron variant has not been detected, though state health officials have said they expect it will be any day now. Posted 12/08/2021

• NEW YORK (AP) — A man who attended an anime convention in New York City in late November tested positive for the omicron variant of the coronavirus when he returned home to Minnesota, marking the second case of the variant in the U.S. and leading officials Thursday to urge thousands of convention attendees to get tested. The news came a day after the U.S. announced its first case of the variant had been detected in California, in a person who had recently traveled to South Africa. Officials reported a third case later Thursday, in a Colorado woman who had recently traveled to southern Africa. There are no confirmed omicron cases among New York residents yet but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said "we do anticipate there will be more cases.” Posted 12/02/2021

•  Rhode Island health officials say more unvaccinated children are getting sick from the coronavirus. The COVID-19 case rate among children ages 5 to 9 years old in Rhode Island doubled between Halloween and Thanksgiving, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the state’s health director, said at a briefing Wednesday. Among children ages 10 to 14, she said, the case rate tripled. “We're hearing from more and more pediatricians,’’ she said, “who are spending all day talking to the parents of COVID sick children or COVID exposed children.” Most of the roughly 200,000 children living in Rhode Island remain unvaccinated. Alexander-Scott urged parents of children ages 5 and older to get them vaccinated as soon as possible. For more information visit covid.ri.gov/vaccination. Posted 12/02/2021

• Governor Daniel J. McKee says that only about one-in-five Rhode Islanders are masking indoors when it’s not mandated, and he is urging residents to consider wearing masks indoors in the wake of the new omicron variant of COVID-19. But McKee said he has no no plans to expand indoor mask mandates. “Right now we're in a position where we're just going to keep it the way it is,’’ he said during a briefing Wednesday at Northern Lincoln Elementary School. For the first time in recent memory, McKee kept his mask on while speaking at the podium in the school’s gymnasium. In Rhode Island, masking is required in schools, as well as health care facilities, government buildings and on public transportation. State officials often remove their masks, however, when speaking into a microphone. Posted 12/02/2021

• A person in California who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant, the White House announced Wednesday, The Associated Press reports. Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters that the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29. Fauci said the person was vaccinated but had not received a booster shot and was experiencing “mild symptoms.” The Biden administration moved late last month to restrict travel from Southern Africa where the variant was first identified and had been widespread. Clusters of cases have also been identified in about two dozen other nations. Posted 12/01/2021

• Federal health officials are recommending COVID-19 booster shots for all adults as the new omicron variant is identified in more countries, The Associated Press reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously approved boosters for all adults, but only recommended them for people 50 years and older or if they live in a long-term care setting. The omicron variant has not yet been identified in the U.S. but federal health officials say it will inevitably reach this country. The boosters are recommended for people 18 or older six months after receiving their initial Pfizer or Moderna series, or two months after their initial Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the CDC director said in a statement. (For more information visit covid.ri.gov/vaccination.) Posted 11/30/2021

• Rhode Island health officials reported that 75 people have tested positive for COVID-19 at Pilgrim High School in Warwick as of Tuesday following an outbreak linked to a Nov. 6 homecoming dannce. Principal Gerald Habershaw, 57, who had been fully vaccinated, died Saturday of complications from COVID-19, his brother, David Habershaw, told The Providence Journal. The newspaper reported that video taken during the homecoming dance reportedly showed the principal and students without masks. The dance was held in a tent outside the school building, but video reportedly showed students congregating inside the school where food was being several. Masking is required inside school district buildings in Rhode Island. Of the 75 people who tested positive for COVID-19, 68 were students and another seven were staff, the health department data shows. At least 45 of the people who tested positive for the virus attended the homecoming dance, Joseph Wendelken, a health department spokesman, said in an email Monday. The school had shifted to remove learning Nov. 20, and returned to classrooms after the Thanksgiving holiday.  Enforcement of COVID-19 safety protocols at the homecoming dance is under investigation. Posted 11/29/2021

• The U.S.is expected to restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries in the region beginning Monday in an effort to contain a new, potentially more dangerous coronavirus variant discovered in the region, The Associated Press reported Friday. A World Health Organization panel has named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern. That's the same category that includes the delta variant currently dominant in the U.S. and Europe. Posted 11/29/2021

• Rhode Island health officials said the early arrival of the flu season coupled with an uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospital staffing shortages are resulting in longer wait times in hospital emergency rooms. Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott is urging residents who need non-emergency medical care to call their primary care providers or visit an urgent care clinic. For a list of medical providers visit the Health Department’s new web page. Posted 11/23/2021

• Rhode Island’s health director is urging residents 18 and older who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to sign up for a booster dose. The state’s high test-positivity rate for the virus -- 5.1% on Tuesday -- means that many adult residents are at higher risk of exposure and are eligible for the boosters under the Food and Drug Administration's emergency use authorization guidelines, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said at a Nov. 16 briefing. About 72% of Rhode Islanders have been vaccinated against COVID-19, among the highest rates in the U.S. But Alexander-Scott said the state has plenty of COVID-19 vaccines available. Posted 11/22/2021

• A Rhode Island Superior Court judge has declined a request by a group of parents for an injunction to block the state’s student mask mandate to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In a 47-page decision issued Nov. 12, Judge Jeffrey A. Lanphear said that the state Department of Health had the legal authority to enact the emergency rule and that Gov. Dan McKee was within his constitutional authority to carry out the emergency order. McKee imposed a student mask mandate in August, after the state Council of Elementary and Secondary Education voted in favor of university masking in schools. McKee issued an executive order Aug. 19 for all schools to comply with the state Department of Health’s masking protocols.

• The Rhode Island Department of Health has notified two hospitals that their facilities are in violation of the state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Eleanor Slater Hospital and Landmark Medical Center each received notices of violation following unannounced inspections on Nov. 1, according to state records. State inspectors found 17 of Landmark’s 21 unvaccinated workers, and 10 of Eleanor Slater’s unvaccinated workers were scheduled to work on Nov. 1, according to the notices. None of the unvaccinated workers were medically exempt from the state mandate, the notices said. State health officials have ordered Landmark and Eleanor Slater to hire independent monitors approved by the department to provide daily updates on each employee’s vaccination status. The hospitals have 10 days from receipt of the violation notices to comply with the vaccine mandate or face fines.

• Burrillville High School shifted all classes to on-line instruction the first week in November after several students and staff tested positive for COVID-19. Classes are expected to remain online for the rest of the week “in an abundance of caution,” the school district’s superintendent, Michael Sollitto, and the high school’s principal, Michael Whaley, said in a Nov. 2 letter posted on the school department website. A “large number of students” have been identified as close contacts of those infected, the letter said, and must quarantine and/or be tested. School officials said they were notified last Friday about the positive tests and have been working with state health officials to identify and notify close contacts of those infected. The high school is expected to resume in-person instruction on Monday, Nov. 5.

• Rhode Island children ages 5 to 11 can now be vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Dan McKee and state health officials announced Wednesday. The state approved the expanded eligibility after Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, late Tuesday followed the recommendation from CDC advisors to give a green light to pediatric-sized doses (10 micrograms) of the Pfizer vaccine for that age group. The vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds is administered as a two-dose series, three weeks apart. About 900 doses of vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old have arrived in Rhode Island so far, and another 9,900 additional doses are expected Wednesday, state health officials said in a statement. Thousands more doses are expected in the coming days. Because much of Rhode Island’s vaccine for this population is still in transit, vaccines may not be available in some of the settings for several days. (For more information visit covid.ri.gov/vaccination.) Posted 11/03/2021

Vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11 will be able, by appointment, at the following sights: 

• School clinics starting the week of Nov.7, will be open during evening hours to vaccinate children, whether or not they are enrolled at the host school.
• Doctor’s offices Fewer than half of the state’s pediatrician and family physicians have signed up so far to provide the COVID-19vaccine to children. Contact your child’s healthcare provider to find out if they are one of them.
• The state-run clinic at Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston: appointments will start to become available Wednesday at 2 p.m. on VaccinateRI.org. If you need help scheduling an appointment call 844-930-1779.
• Pharmacies: Many CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Stop and Shop sites are expected to begin this weekend. Visit pharmacy websites for more information. Appointments for independent pharmacies will be listed on VaccinateRI.org.
• Health centers: Many health centers are doing direct outreach to their patients about vaccine availability.
• Community clinics: community clinics will be scheduled in the coming weeks.

• An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted Tuesday that all children ages 5 to 11 should get Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, the Associated Press reported. The CDC’s director, Rochelle Waleksy, signs off, late Tuesday. This marks the first opportunity for Americans under 12 to get the powerful protection of a COVID-19 vaccine. Shots for children under 12 could begin this week, as Pfizer already is packing and shipping the first orders, millions of doses, to states and pharmacies. The Food and Drug Administration has already authorized emergency use of kid-sized doses for children ages 5 to 11. But the CDC also must sign off before widespread vaccinations of that age group begin.

• Rhode Island is giving away $1.00 lottery baseball scratch tickets to the first 1,000 residents 18 and older who get their first COVID-19 vaccine at the pop-up clinic at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Gov. Dan McKee joined WPRO anchorman Gene Valicenti and John Hazen White, Jr., owner of Taco Comfort Solutions, at a kick-off of R.I. Lottery Scratch Ticket Vaccine Incentive at noon. As of Monday, just over 91% of adults in Rhode Island were at least partially vaccinated; nearly 83% of adults had completed their primary vaccinations, according to state health department data. More information about COVID-19 vaccines is available at C19vaccineRI.org.

• Mobile vaccine clinics this week will begin rolling out of New Bedford, MA, leaving behind a city where just under half of all residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The decision has left leaders on the front lines of the port city’s fight against the coronavirus increasingly looking to vaccine mandates. It's a strategy used across state government in the Bay State that has helped boost vaccination rates to among the highest rates in the country. (Read the full story here.)

• The Food and Drug Administration authorized kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, paving the way for children ages 5 to 11 to be vaccinated, the Associated Press reported. On Oct. 29, the FDA cleared the kid-sized doses -- just a third of the amount given to teens and adults -- for emergency use in children. Roughly 80,000 children in Rhode Island would be eligible for the vaccine, according to Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the state’s health director. Rhode Island has one of the highest cumulative COVID-19 infection rates among children since the start of the pandemic, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

• Governor McKee announced the launch Oct. 27 of a pilot COVID-19 testing program at Westerly public schools. The federally-funded “test-to-stay” program is designed to prevent students from missing class due to quarantining. Parents of students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade can now give consent for their children to receive a rapid antigen test for COVID-19 if they have been exposed to the virus in school. Children who test negative and remain symptom-free will be allowed to stay in school rather than quarantine. The same testing option will be offered to school staff, Joseph Wendelken, a health department spokesman, said.

• A federal advisory panel has endorsed kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds. The Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Oct. 26 voted unanimously, with one abstention, that the vaccine’s benefits in preventing COVID-19 in that age group outweigh any potential risks, the Associated Press reported. That includes questions about a heart-related side effect that’s been very rare in teens and young adults despite their use of a much higher vaccine dose. While children are far less likely than older people to get severe COVID-19, ultimately many panelists decided it’s important to give parents the choice to protect their youngsters — especially those at high risk of illness or who live in places where other precautions, like masks in schools, aren’t being used.

• Eleanor Slater Hospital’s medical unit in Burrillville is temporarily restricting all visitation after two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus. The no-visitation policy was imposed Oct. 26 after the state-run hospital learned of the two new infections, Randal Edgar, a hospital spokesman, said. Eleanor Slater provides medical care at its Zambrano unit in Burrillville as well as psychiatric care at three other units in Cranston. As of Oct. 19, 69 of the 856 of the hospital’s full-time staff and contract workers -- 8% of the staff -- had not been vaccinated, Edgar said. Eleanor Slater was one of 92 health care facilities in Rhode Island that were given an additional 30 days, until Oct. 31, to comply with the state mandate to have 100% of their staff fully vaccinated. In addition to restricting visitors, Eleanor Slater conducting twice-weekly testing of staff and patients on the affected units, and weekly testing of other patients and staff. The precautions will remain in effect for 14 days, he said.

• Rhode Island is offering Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine boosters to eligible residents who completed their primary vaccinations, Gov. Dan McKee and state health officials announced Friday. People eligible for the boosters can choose which brand of vaccine they receive, regardless of their primary vaccination, enabling people to “mix and match” boosters as permitted in recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The following residents who have completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination at least six months ago are eligible for a single Moderna booster: 
• Anyone age 65 or older;
• Anyone age 18 or older who lives in a long-term care setting;
• Anyone age 18 or older who has an underlying medical condition; and
• Anyone age 18 or older who lives or works in high-risk settings.

A single Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 booster is available to anyone 18 or older who completed their primary vaccine at least two months earlier.

The Pfizer COVID-19 booster has been available since Sept. 24 to eligible residents who completed their primary vaccine at least six months earlier. 

Residents who are unable to leave their homes can request services for in-home booster doses. For more information: https://covid.ri.gov/vaccination#athome'

• Federal regulators have approved COVID-19 boosters for people who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they initially received, the Associated Press reported. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision on Wednesday marks a big step forward to expanding the U.S. booster campaign, which began in September with extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine. But before people roll up their sleeves, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will consult an expert panel Thursday before finalizing official recommendations for who should get boosters and when.

• Rhode Island is gearing up to begin vaccinating roughly 80,000 children as young as 5 against COVID-19. Federal health officials are expected to decide in early- to mid-November on a request to authorize emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The Food and Drug Administration has tentatively scheduled a meeting on Oct. 26 to consider the request. Rhode Island Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said Thursday that she expects high demand for the vaccine among parents. She advised parents with questions about whether to vaccinate their children to consult their pediatricians.

• Rhode Island is deconstruct its remaining field hospital in Cranston. The Cranston Alternative Hospital, at 100 Sockanosset Cross Rd., was one of two field hospitals -- the other at the Rhode Island Convention Center -- built in the spring of 2020 as rising COVID-19 cases threatened to overwhelm the state’s hospitals. Both field hospitals were decommissioned last February, but Gov. Dan McKee reopened the Cranston site in August, as cases of COVID-19 began to climb due to the spread of the Delta variant. McKee said Oct. 14 that the state no longer anticipated a need for the field

• Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee is joining state health officials in urging Rhode Islanders to get their free annual flu shots along with their COVID-19 vaccinations. People can get their flu shots and COVID-19 vaccinations during the same visit to a pharmacy, primary care provider, school vaccination clinic or other site where both vaccinations are available. Anyone six months of age and older should get an annual flu vaccine, state health officials said. Vaccination is especially important for pregnant women, people 65 and older, younger children, people with chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and asthma), health care workers and people who live with or care for people at high risk of flu-related complications. For more information go to health.ri.gov/flu.)

• Rhode Island will receive nearly $1.5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reimburse costs associated with the state’s COVID-19 response, the federal agency announced Wednesday. The $1,490,011 in public assistance grant funding to the Rhode Island Department of Health will cover pandemic-related expenses for public health outreach including daily case information to the public, municipal officials, businesses and schools as well as testing and contact tracing. The funds are for the period from September through December 2020. The latest grant brings the total pandemic-related funding awarded by FEMA to Rhode Island to nearly $291 million. 

• Johnson & Johnson has asked federal regulators to allow booster shots of its COVID-19 vaccine as the government moves to shore up protection provided by all three vaccines. The Associated Press reports that Johnson & Johnson said has filed data with the Food and Drug Administration on giving a booster dose between two to six months after vaccination. The FDA has scheduled an Oct. 15 meeting of its expert advisory committee to discuss whether to grant emergency use authorization of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. The FDA last month authorized a booster shot for many recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the agency is considering doing the same this month for the Moderna vaccine

• Ninety-two health care facilities in Rhode Island -- including 35 nursing homes, 15 assisted living facilities and seven hospitals -- have been given another 30 days, until Oct. 31, to comply with the state mandate to have 100% of their staff fully vaccinated, according to state health department data released Friday night. Among them are four hospitals operated by Lifespan -- Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Newport Hospital and Bradley Hospital -- as well as Landmark Medical Center, Westerly Hospital and the state-run Eleanor Slater Hospital. All 92 facilities have agreed to comply with “corrective action plans” filed with the state Department of Health. On Oct. 1, Lifespan officials said that nearly 98% of its workforce is partially or fully vaccinated; Care New England said 97% of its employees had at least one dose of the vaccine.

• A federal judge has denied a request by four unnamed people to block Rhode Island’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to the Associated Press. U.S. Court Judge Mary S. McElroy wrote in her decision Thursday that courts have held over a century that mandatory vaccination laws, which have withstood numerous constitutional challenges, are a valid exercise of a state’s police powers. The legal challenge to the mandate that takes effect Friday was filed by four people who work in the health care field, including a doctor and a nurse.

• Friday’s deadline for Rhode Island health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 appears to have persuaded many hold-outs to get the shots. More than 95% of Care New England’s workforce has been vaccinated against COVID-19, hospital officials said, up from 85 percent during the first week of September. “This number continues to climb by the day and the hour,” Dr. James E. Finale, president and CEO of Care New England, said in a statement Wednesday. Lifespan, the state’s largest health system, reports that about 96% of its workforce has had at least one dose of the vaccine. And about 83% of the workers at Eleanor Slater Hospital are vaccinated, Randy Edgar, a hospital spokesman said Wednesday. That’s compared with fewer than half of the workforce who were vaccinated at the state-run hospital in mid-July. Hospital officials say they have contingency plans, including hiring contract workers, to cope with staffing shortages.

• A Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied a request by the Rhode Island State Association of Firefighters to block enforcement of the state’s vaccine mandate, which takes effect Friday. Judge Melissa Darigan ruled at a hearing that the lawsuit filed by the lobbying arm of about 20 firefighters’ unions failed to show that the Health Department’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers -- including Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) -- violates firefighters’ constitutional or collective-bargaining rights. Most of Rhode Island’s firefighters are also licensed EMTs who answer emergency medical calls. About 8% of the State Association's 1,500 members remain unvaccinated, said Joseph Andriole, the association's business agent. In denying the association's request for an emergency restraining order, Darigan said that it was unlikely the firefighters would succeed in any constitutional challenge to mandate, citing decades of case law from other states in which the courts have denied First Amendment challenges to vaccine mandates, even when no religious exemption was offered.

• A group of Rhode Island health care workers has filed suit in federal court alleging that the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is unconstitutional because it doesn’t allow for religious exemptions. The lawsuit alleges that Rhode Island is the only state other than Maine and New York which outlaws consideration of religious exemptions. Maine’s vaccine mandate is the subject of two lawsuits; a federal court has issued temporary injunctions against New York’s vaccine mandate for health care workers and teachers. The plaintiffs in the Rhode Island suit, filed Sept. 21, include a doctor, a nurse, a hospital clerk and a health unit coordinator identified only by single initials. The Rhode Island regulation requires all employees of state-licensed health care facilities to be vaccinated by Friday. Only employees with a medical exemption are permitted to remain unvaccinated.

• The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-18 vaccine boosters are now available in Rhode Island for people ages 65 and older, those with underlying medical conditions, and residents of long-term care facilities, state officials announced Friday. Given the state’s high vaccination rates, demand for vaccinations is expected to be higher for the next six weeks, state officials said in a statement, and thanked residents in advance for their patience. Appointments are strongly encouraged, they said, to ensure that enough vaccines are available at the sites and to reduce wait times. To make an appointment visit C19vaccineRI.org. People who need assistance making appointments can call: 844-930-1779, (401)222-8022, or 211.

• The Rhode Island Department of Health says about 87 percent of Rhode Island’s healthcare facility workforce is vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s according to data released Tuesday. The state has set October 1st as a deadline for requiring healthcare workers in the state to be vaccinated. According to the Department of Health, some unvaccinated healthcare workers may still be able to work, if the healthcare facility demonstrates those employees are mitigating “a risk to quality of patient care.”

• Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will seek U.S. authorization for this age group soon, a key step toward beginning vaccinations for youngsters. The Associated Press reported the vaccine maker said Monday it plans to seek authorization for this age group soon in the U.S., Britain and Europe. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech already is available for anyone 12 and older. But with kids now back in school and the extra-contagious delta variant causing a huge jump in pediatric infections, many parents are anxiously awaiting vaccinations for their younger children.

• An advisory panel to the federal Food And Drug Administration (FDA) overwhelmingly rejected a plan Friday to offer Pfizer booster shots against COVID-19 to most Americans, saying that the drug maker had provided little data on the safety and efficacy of extra doses, according to the Associated Press. But the committee of outside experts endorsed extra shots for those who are 65 or older or other groups a high risk of severe disease.

•  Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee is expected to renew an executive order requiring masking in schools, which is set to expire Saturday, Sept. 18. Asked by The Public’s Radio during the governor's weekly COVID-19 briefing Wednesday whether he would renew the school masking mandate, McKee replied, “yes,” without elaborating. Alana O’Hare, the governor’s spokeswoman, said in an email: “A priority for the Governor and his team is the safety of students in our schools. Right now, children under the age of 12 cannot get vaccinated and the Delta variant, which is highly transmissible, remains a dominant."

• Health care employees in Rhode Island who fail to be vaccinated could face disciplinary action or termination, according to new state health department regulations. Employees of hospitals, clinics and other state-licensed health care facilities have until Oct. 1 to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who are not vaccinated by then will be placed on leave without pay for up to 75 days to allow them time to become vaccinated. If they are unable to provide proof of vaccination by Dec. 15, 2021, the regulations state, they will face “progressive discipline, up to and including termination.”

• Block Island residents and visitors will be required to wear face masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, starting Friday. The emergency ordinance was approved Thursday night to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as the island prepares for an influx of visitors over the Labor Day weekend. People who violate the ordinance could face a $50 fine. Restaurant patrons are not required to wear a mask while eating or drinking. Young children are among those exempt from the order.

• All University of Rhode Island faculty and non-classified staff will be required to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination by Oct. 15, or request a medical or religious exemption. URI employees granted exemptions will have to submit to twice-weekly testing and remain physically distanced from others, the university said in a statement released Thursday. URI students, faculty and staff who are not vaccinated and do not qualify for a medical or religious exemption will not be permitted on campus.

• Rhode Island health officials are asking residents to refrain from using hospital emergency rooms unless they are having a true medical emergency, citing emergency department crowding and prolonged wait times. More patients are visiting emergency departments which are already short on nursing staff, state health officials said in a statement Monday. Rhode Island Hospital and Landmark Medical Center this year have reported increases in ambulances being diverted to other hospitals due to emergency department crowding, state health department data shows. And it could get worse as COVID-19 cases continue to climb and the flu season begins. State health officials said anyone with back pain, flu-like symptoms or minor cuts will be seen more quickly by a primary care provider or in an urgent care facility.

• With less than five weeks for Rhode Island's health care workers to meet the Oct. 1 deadline for being fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, more than a quarter of the staff at Eleanor Slater Hospital remain unvaccinated, state officials confirmed Friday. Of the 859 health care workers at Eleanor Slater, 635 employees or about 26% of the staff remain unvaccinated, Randy Edgar, a spokesman for the state Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals (BHDD), said in an email. The recommended interval between doses is 21 days for Pfizer-BioNTech and 28 days for Moderna. The other option is to get a single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Sept. 17 to meet the deadline.

• Gov. Dan McKee said Thursday he will sign an executive order to allow retired nurses and other health care workers to rejoin the workforce without "sacrificing" their pensions. Rhode Island is bracing for staffing shortages this fall as COVID-19 hospitalizations increase due to the spread of the Delta variant, along with the seasonal flu and a rise in retirements nationwide due to pandemic fatigue.

•  Lifespan has announced new visitation restrictions for its hospitals and out-patient clinics in Rhode Island due to the increase in the state’s COVID-10 cases. The state’s largest hospital said Aug. 24 that restrictions include fewer visitors per patient; fewer family members/escorts allowed upon arrival at the emergency department and no outside food may be brought into its facilities during visits. Hospital cafeterias will continue to remain open to visitors. Lifespan operates Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, The Miriam Hospital and Newport Hospital. Detailed visitor guidelines at all Lifespan locations are available online.

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted full approval for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, a milestone that could help improve public confidence in the shots in the face of the most contagious coronavirus variant yet. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech has been available since it was granted emergency authorization use on Dec. 11, 2020. The full approval, means that the Pfizer vaccine has passed the agency’s standard review process for quality, safety and effectiveness for people ages 16 and older

• All Rhode Island COVID-19  testing and vaccination sites were expected to reopen Monday except for those in Westerly, Gov. Dan McKee said at a briefing Sunday. People who had appointments on Saturday that were cancelled due to the storm should show up Monday, he said, and they will be vaccinated. All pop-up vaccination clinics scheduled for Tuesday will go on planned; all others will be rescheduled. Pharmacies and other privately-run vaccination sites will reopen as power is restored to their facilities.

• Rhode Island Gov. Daniel J. McKee said Thursday he will sign an executive order to require masking in all schools that have not already adopted a mandatory masking policy to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The announcement during a weekly media briefing marks a sharp turn for the Democratic governor, who previously said he would leave it up to school districts to decide whether or not to require masking.  The decision follows the announcement Tuesday by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Republican, to mandate masking in Connecticut schools.

•  As COVID-19 cases among children nationally climb, Rhode Island Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott urged school superintendents in an Aug. 18 letter “to enforce an indoor mask requirement across the schools in your district...to protect the health and safety of those in your community and all Rhode Islanders.” Since early August, the COVID-19 positivity rate for children in Rhode Island ages 5 to 18 years old has risen above 5% compared with 3.5% for people 30 and older. The highest positivity rate has been 5.9% among children 10 to 14, the director said in the letter. States such as Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas that have recently reopened schools without these mitigation measures have seen surges in COVID-19 cases among children hospitalized, “a scenario we have the power to avoid.”

• Rhode Island school districts will be required to mandate masking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in order to reopen schools, according to the R.I. Council on Elementary and Secondary Education. The council voted unanimously Tuesday night to direct the state Department of Education to reject any local school reopening plans that don’t include mask mandates for students and teachers. Schools are scheduled to return to fully in-person classes this fall. Earlier this summer, state education officials said that decisions on whether or not to mandate masking would fall to local school districts. But that changed following concerns about the spread of the Delta variant, and the rise in COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island. Gov. Dan McKee has rejected calls from 34 state lawmakers to mandate masking in schools, saying he is leaving it up to local school districts.

• Workers in all Rhode Island hospitals, nursing homes and other state-licensed health care facilities must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 by Oct.1 or they will be prohibited from entering the facilities, the state Department of Health announced Wednesday. Facilities where employees violate the new state regulation may face financial penalties and/or suspension/revocation of the facility’s license, in addition to disciplinary action against the individual employees who fail to comply, the department said in a statement. The COVID-19 healthcare worker vaccination regulations and additional resources are available online.

• More than 100 COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be open in Rhode Island from early August through mid-September as part of a push to get students 12 or older vaccinated before the start of school. Gov. Dan McKee and state health and education officials are urging eligible students and their families to get vaccinated to protect against the rise of the highly contagious Delta variant. To learn more about vaccinations and to sign up visit vaccinateri.org. For a full list of back-to-school clinics visit back2schoolri.com.

• Rhode Island officials have announced plans to make third doses of the coronavirus vaccine available for people with weakened immune systems by early next week. The move follows a unanimous vote Friday by advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend that people who are immunocompromised get a third shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine. NPR reports that CDC officials presented studies to the committee showing that people with conditions that weaken their immune systems or who are taking treatments to suppress immunity are at higher risk of prolonged coronavirus infection and transmission and more likely to transmit the virus to people in their household. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel J. McKee and state Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott announced the decision in a joint statement Friday. 

• Rhode Island’s courthouses now require all employees and visitors to wear face masks or coverings to protect against the highly-contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. The executive order issued Friday by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell that was posted on Twitter says masking is required inside or around state court buildings, including in entryways, exits, stairways, restrooms and other common areas.

• Starting Friday, all employees and visitors to any state building in Rhode Island, regardless of vaccination status, must wear face masks to prevent spread of the coronavirus, James E. Thorsen, director of the state Department of Administration said in a statement. The masking requirement follows the July 27 recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for indoor masking in areas such as Rhode Island which the CDC considers high transmission. The mandate for state buildings will remain in effect in the state until there is a “marked and sustained decline in the transmission of COVID-19,'' the statement said. Anyone who has a health condition that prevents them from wearing a mask, the statement said, must contact the state Human Resources and Disability Management Unit to seek an exemption from the mandate.

• Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea and General Treasurer Seth Magaziner have joined the American Academy of Pediatrics in calling for a statewide mask mandate in Rhode Island schools this fall. Gorbea and Magaziner, who are both expected to challenge McKee next year in the Democratic primary for governor, issued statements Wednesday urging McKee to institute mandatory masking since many students are still unvaccinated amid the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus. McKee has left it up to school districts to set masking policies, though when pressed at a news conference said that he expects school superintendents to “follow the CDC guidance,” which is for universal masking in schools K-12. 

• As demand for COVID-19 tests surges in Rhode Island, state health officials have begun requiring appointments to get tested at most state-run testing sites. Rhode Islanders can schedule a free test online at portal.ri.gov or by calling 401-222-8022. Insurance is accepted but not required. If you arrive at a state-run testing site without an appointment, staff there will help you schedule a same-day test. The testing site for travelers at T.F. Green Airport will continue to accept walk-ups. The state also operates mobile pop-up test sites that do not require appointments. The schedule for the mobile pop-up sites is available online. Demand for COVID-19 testing at state sites rose 69% from the week of July 26 to Aug. 7, state health officials said, as coronavirus cases have spiked amid the fast-spreading Delta variant. The state is considering opening additional test sites if demand continues to increase, state health officials said in an statement Wednesday.

• Rhode Island will require all employees of nursing homes, hospitals and other state-licensed health care facilities to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1., Gov. Daniel J. McKee said Tuesday. The move followed Massachusetts and Connecticut which last week announced vaccination mandates for all staff in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in those states. In Rhode Island, Lifespan and Care New England, the state's two largest hospital systems, said earlier this month that they will require their employees be vaccinated by September.

• Rhode Island is now at a high transmission rate for the coronavirus for the first time since early May, according to state health data released Aug 2. The COVID-19 cases ticked up from moderate to substantial transmission over the weekend and crossed the threshold to what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers high transmission after new cases hit 103 per 100,000 population. The CDC also reports high transmission rates in Bristol County, MA, which includes part of Cape Cod.

• The City of Central Falls is requiring that all members of the public, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks inside City Hall, the Police Department and other city-owned public buildings beginning Aug. 2. The city is the first in Rhode Island to enact a mask order in the wake of a rise in COVID-19 cases and the spread of the highly-contagious Delta variant. The CDC recommended on July 27 that everyone, vaccinated or not, wear a mask in public indoor spaces in communities with substantial or high transmission of COVID-19. Central Falls has the highest per capita rate of COVID-19 cases of any community in Rhode Island, according to state health data.

• Lifespan and Care New England, Rhode Island's two largest hospital systems, will both require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The move, announced Tuesday, comes in response to rising transmission rates of the Delta variant of the virus. In a emailed statement today, CNE President and CEO James Fanale said, “It is our responsibility to keep our patients, and our staff, safe. This program will be based on the best evidence that we have to date about preventing transmission of COVID-19. ” CNE has required all students, volunteers and new hires to be fully vaccinated since July 1st. It will require managers to begin the vaccination series by Labor Day. Complete details of implementation for all staff will be released in the next 7-10 days. Lifespan will require all employees, regardless of their role, to be vaccinated by September 1, 2021.

• Ten Rhode Island nonprofit organizations will receive $10,000 grants to mark the vaccination of another 5,000 Rhode Islanders against COVID-19, Gov. Dan McKee’s office announced Monday. The program aimed at encouraging Rhode Islanders to be vaccinated and helping organizations that have worked on the front lines of the pandemic. The $100,000 in grants awarded marks the first of four rounds of the $750,000 RI Gives Vax Challenge to vaccinate 20,000 more residents. The state contributed $500,000 to the challenge; the $250,000 was provided by the nonprofit Rhode Island Foundation. Eligible nonprofits are selected by lottery. The recipients of this first round are: Access To Recovery Inc.; Adoption Rhode Island; Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center; The Elisha Project; Pawtucket Soup Kitchen; Refugee Development Center; Rhode Island Free Clinic; Southern Rhode Island Volunteers and The WARM Center. (Track the grants here.) Applications will be accepted through July 30 at rifoundation.org/vax.

• Six school and child care COVID-19 testing sites in Rhode Island are scheduled to close at the end of the month as testing becomes more accessible in traditional healthcare settings, state officials announced Thursday. Five other state-run school and child care testing sites will remain open, along with 14 additional fixed testing locations, state health officials said in a statement. Other test sites include retail pharmacies, respiratory clinics, doctor’s offices and mobile and pop-up test sites. Saturday, July 31 will be the last day for COVID-19 testing at the following locations:
• Bristol Stop & Shop Parking Lot: 605 Metacom Ave.; Bristol, RI 02809
• Cranston Stop & Shop Parking Lot: 275 Warwick Ave.; Cranston, RI 02905
• Lincoln YMCA Parking Lot: 32 Breakneck Hill Rd.; Lincoln, RI 02865
• Providence Stop & Shop Parking Lot: 850 Manton Ave.; Providence, RI 02909
• Smithfield Fidelity Investment Hedquarters Parking Lot: 100 Salem St.; Smithfield, RI 02917
• Westerly Walmart Parking Lot: 258 Post Rd.; Westerly, RI 02891. For more information about COVID-19 testing in Rhode Island visit covid.ri.gov/testing.

• Only 12% of Rhode Island’s primary care offices surveyed offer COVID-19 vaccinations in their offices, according to data presented Tuesday to the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Subcommittee. The lack of availability of the vaccine at pediatricians’ offices could present barriers for parents to getting their children immunized before students return to their classrooms. While 77 % adults (18 and older) are at least partially vaccinated, fewer than half of residents ages 12-15 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, state health data shows.  

• Beginning July 10, drive-through vaccinations will be available for anyone age 12 or older on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Wickford Junction Train Station Parking Garage, 1011 Ten Rod Rd., North Kingstown, R.I. The clinic will administer first or second doses of the Pfizer vaccine. To receive a second dose, visitors must ensure that it has been at least 21 days since their first dose. This clinic is open to Rhode Islanders and people who live in other states or who may be visiting Rhode Island. Appointments are recommended, but not required. Individuals seeking vaccination must arrive in a vehicle. No walk-ups will be accepted. The clinic will be held, rain or shine, in the Wickford Junction Train Station parking garage. To register for an appointment, visit www.vaccinateri.org or call 844-930-1779.

• As of Friday, Rhode Island is lifting some of its last remaining pandemic-related capacity restrictions on higher-risk settings and activities including nightclubs and live performances. The state is also working on a coronavirus vaccination incentive program to benefit charities, rather than individuals, Gov. Daniel McKee said Thursday. The total budget for the incentive program would be about $1 million, and McKee said under his plan, charities would receive money when the state reaches certain vaccination rate milestones, such as 75%, 80%, 85% and 90%.

• Some Massachusetts pandemic-era policies that had expired on Tuesday, such as allowing restaurants to offer take-out cocktails, were quickly extended Wednesday after Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill sent to him by state lawmakers. The new law would also let government bodies continue to hold virtual public hearings and extend some protections for tenants facing eviction. Those protections briefly expired after the coronavirus state of emergency was lifted in Massachusetts on Tuesday. It had been in place for more than a year. Two other pandemic-era policies, the expansion of early voting and mail-in voting, were not extended.

• Massachusetts is giving away five $1 million cash prizes and five $300,000 college scholarships to residents who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday that the aim of the VaxMillions Giveaway, modeled after a similar program in Ohio, is to drive up the state’s vaccination rate, already one of the best in the nation. The state will hold weekly drawings for five weeks starting the week of July 26. The announcement came on the same day that the state's pandemic-related state of emergency was lifted.

• More than a dozen state run COVID-19 testing sites around Rhode Island including the drive-thru site at the Rhode Island Convention Center parking garage will be closed by the end of the month, state officials announced Monday. The consolidation comes as the state shifts its focus to mobile and pop-up testing in schools, travel destinations and communities with low vaccination rates, according to a statement. The state will maintain 25 COVID-19 test sites throughout the state; pharmacies and medical offices also continue to offer testing. For a full list of COVID-19 test sites, visit covid.ri.gov/testing.

• Rhode Island will close two of its largest vaccination sites — at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence and the former Benny’s in Middletown — on June 26. Gov. Dan McKee said he anticipates the Dunkin’ Donuts Center will be able to resume holding recreational events by September or October.

• CVS Pharmacy announced that individuals can purchase three over-the-counter COVID-19 tests options in stores and online. The tests are the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test, the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test, and the Pixel by Labcorp PCR Test Home Collection Kit, which have all received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration. The tests do not require a prescription and can be used by individuals with or without COVID-19 symptoms.

Who is eligible to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine?

• Anyone 12 and older who lives, works or studies in Rhode Island or Massachusetts
• Tourists and other out-of-state visitors are also eligible to be vaccinated in Rhode Island.

Find a vaccination site near you: Search for a site in Rhode Island or Massachusetts.

More information on vaccination:

• Homebound Rhode Islanders can request an in-home vaccination. 
• Veterans, along with caregivers and spouses of veterans, are eligible to get vaccinated and can register for vaccination through the Providence VA.
• Rhode Island and Massachusetts resumed use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older, ending a pause in administration that began April 13. The decision follows the recommendation of an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Learn more about Rhode Island's vaccination plan.

Reopening:

• Fully vaccinated Rhode Island residents are no longer required to wear masks in most settings. And Rhode Islanders are no longer be required to wear masks outdoors, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. However, state officials said "unvaccinated individuals are still strongly encouraged to wear masks in crowded outdoor settings or during activities that involve sustained close contact."

• Massachusetts residents are no longer be required to wear masks in most settings, although officials advise those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 to wear a mask indoors if they cannot socially distance. Gov. Charlie Baker said the mandate will remain in place indefinitely for schools, public transportation, rideshares and healthcare facilities, including nursing homes, addiction treatment centers and other congregate care environments.

• Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, and The Miriam Hospital are loosening some of their visitation rules as the number of new coronavirus cases in the state continues to fall. Lifespan, which operates the hospitals, said Tuesday that visitors must be at least 18 years old, will still be screened for symptoms and possible exposure to COVID-19 upon entry, and will be required to wear a mask regardless of their vaccination status.

• Rhode Island officials plan to offer guidance for school reopenings on July 1. Gov. McKee said he hopes to see a full return to in-person learning next fall, and the state may no longer require districts to offer a virtual learning option. Tom McCarthy, the state health department’s director of COVID response, said Rhode Island is not planning to require students to be vaccinated in order to return to school.

• As of May 21, Rhode Island restaurants, bars and other businesses can remove their plexiglass dividers, dispense with social distancing and operate at full capacity.

• Rhode Island nightclubs which require staff and patrons to be vaccinated will be able to resume operations at 100% capacity. Nightclubs that do not require vaccinations will be able to operate at 50% capacity.

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