McKee Moves Up Eligibility Date for 16 and Up for Vaccines, But Major RIDOH Problems Continue

McKee Moves Up Eligibility Date for 16 and Up for Vaccines, But Major RIDOH Problems Continue

Technology issues and poor communication continues to plague the Rhode Island Department of Health’s management of the vaccination program — a program that has been helter-skelter at best.

On Thursday, Governor Dan McKee announced all Rhode Islanders 16 years and older will be eligible for vaccinations by April 19, after Rhode Island Health officials said on Wednesday the state was not moving up the schedule.

Massachusetts and Connecticut governors had already set April eligibility dates.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

The Department of Health’s website still states that first shot eligibility won't start for some until May. 

McKee claims “If Rhode Island can get the vaccine supply we need, we can achieve and beat this goal.”

But supply is just part of the problem. The Rhode Department of Health has bungled nearly every aspect of the pandemic.

Cases are beginning to move up— Covid ActNow shows that Rhode Island cases have been going up since March 9. 

 

RIDOH's Consistent Mismanagement

The mistakes and errors by the Rhode Island Department of Health have proven deadly.

The state is ranked third in the country for deaths per capita only behind New York and top-ranked New Jersey -- just under 2,600 Rhode Islanders have died from the virus.

And, Rhode Island is ranked third for cases per capita only behind two rural states South Dakota and North Dakota.

In addition, RIDOH officials developed a flawed vaccination plan. A GoLocal investigation in October unveiled that the 53-page document submitted to the federal government outlines that one of Rhode Island’s priorities was to immunize children. The document formally submitted to the CDC states, “Rhode Island will nonetheless prioritize the following critical populations for vaccination:  Young adults, children….”

Just one problem -- neither of the two vaccines now approved for usage by the FDA and the CDC was approved for use by children.

Rhode Island's technology for registering for vaccines continues to fail and is a nightmare for users.

On Tuesday, the state reportedly opened up the site for appointments for 1,800 vaccination slots, but thousands of Rhode Islanders were shut out of the process that has continued to be frustrating, flawed, and highly ineffective.

It is unclear how the state is going to be able to handle all Rhode Islanders 16+ if it failed to meet demand this week.