Rhode Island Makes Thousands Of New Vaccine Appointments Available

US-HEALTH-VIRUS-VACCINE — Elvin Toro, 26, a former army medic, organizes his syringes before giving out the next does 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. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

By Associated Press

April 06, 2021

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island on Tuesday made an additional 7,300 COVID-19 vaccine appointments available at the state’s vaccine signup website.

The appointments are for state-run mass vaccination sites at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence and in Cranston, and for new regional sites in Westerly, Johnston and East Providence.

“I am glad to be starting off the new week by expanding vaccine eligibility to Rhode Islanders 50 years and older,” Gov. Daniel McKee said in a statement. “We’re moving quickly to build out our capacity and make vaccines accessible to all Rhode Island adults when our supply increases."

The state's vaccine preregistration system is also launching this week. Rhode Islanders can preregister at the Vaccine Interest Notification List.

When an appointment opens up for someone who has pre-registered and who is eligible, a notification will be sent to that person via email, text message, or phone call with a one-time use link. Appointments will be for a set date and a specific location, though there will be some flexibility for the exact time.

Notifications will start Wednesday.

Nearly 257,000 people in the state, or about 25% of the total population, have already been fully vaccinated, according to state Department of Health numbers.