McKee Announces Plan to Get COVID-19 Vaccinations to All RI Teachers, School Staff by End of Month

McKee Announces Plan to Get COVID-19 Vaccinations to All RI Teachers, School Staff by End of Month

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee announced on Tuesday that the state is partnering with cities and towns on a plan to get first doses of COVID-19 vaccine to all K-12 teachers, school staff, and child care workers by the end of the month.

According to the McKee Administration, teachers, school staff, and child care workers at centers and family child care sites licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) will be vaccinated at the existing 30 city- and town-operated clinics throughout Rhode Island. Some clinics are serving more than one community. School staff includes administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, support staff, clerical staff, custodial or maintenance staff, bus drivers and bus monitors.

Clinics will be open to teachers and staff from public, private, parochial, and independent schools. Many will start vaccinating on Friday and Saturday. This week, municipal Emergency Management Agency Directors will reach out to school leaders (district superintendents, charter school leaders, non-public school leaders) and DHS licensees for child care centers to share information about how they can get vaccinated. 

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People will be vaccinated based on the community where they work, not where they live. After doing first doses in March, these clinics will start administering second doses in April.

“Getting our teachers, school staff, and child care workers vaccinated is one of the best things we can do right now to support students, families, schools, and our economy,” said  McKee. “Here in Rhode Island, we’ve heard President Biden’s directive, and his goal is our goal. Child care and in-person learning are essential services, and we should treat them that way. I want to thank the leadership of our cities and towns for stepping up to help us meet this moment and get these workers vaccinated quickly, efficiently, and safely.”

Plan for City of Providence 

Given the high volume of staff and the large number of child care workers in Providence, the city of Providence will use an alternate approach. 

Through support from the Partnership for Rhode Island and Lifespan, a designated clinic for Providence teachers, school staff and licensed child care workers has been established for three weeks at 335R Prairie Ave., Providence, RI 02905. Beginning Wednesday, March 10, eligible individuals can call (401) 444-8139 to schedule an appointment. 

CVS and Walgreens Options

In addition to getting vaccinated at city- and town-run clinics, teachers are also able to make appointments at select CVS and Walgreens locations. Teachers, school staff, and child care workers are not currently eligible to get vaccinated at one of the State-run sites.

Rhode Island will remain on schedule for the next groups in its vaccination timeline because 14,040 doses of surplus vaccine from the long-term care facility pharmacy partnership are being reintegrated into Rhode Island’s general inventory. Roughly 18,500 teachers, school staff, and child care workers need to be vaccinated, based on uptake trends and estimates on how many of these workers have already been vaccinated. 

In mid-March, RIDOH anticipates opening eligibility to the next groups in the timeline: people who are 60 to 64 years old and people who are 16 to 64 with specific underlying health conditions. More information about Rhode Island’s COVID-19 vaccination timeline is available online.

General information about COVID-19 is also available online at covid.ri.gov.