Communities set to distribute vaccines this weekend
Eligible residents in NS, Cumberland, Pawtucket seek to secure limited number of slots
The state’s release of a small amount of COVID-19 vaccines for administration by municipalities this weekend has sparked a rush of calls from seniors seeking to sign up as their communities mobilize what will be an expanding community-based vaccination program.
In North Smithfield, Town
Administrator Paul Zwolenski said his community got word Tuesday evening from North Smithfield Fire Chief David Chartier that plans for the first community-based inoculations were in the works.
“Wednesday morning we had a meeting and we sat in with the EMA (Emergency Management Agency) and Rhode Island Department of Health and we found out that communities were being allotted certain vaccination amounts depending on their populations,” Zwolenski said on Friday.
North Smithfield’s number under the plan was 60, to be distributed over the weekend at Smithfield High School, which has been used as a pod site for inoculated first responders, rescue personnel and firefighters in recent weeks.
That location is already staffed by certified technicians and medical staff and has worked out an efficient process for managing the distribution of vaccine on an appointment-only basis, the administrator noted.
Zwolenski turned to North Smithfield’s tax assessor and town clerk to begin work on a list of eligible residents who could take advantage of the planned vaccine distribution program at the Smithfield pod site over the weekend.
In addition to finding information on eligible residents through town records, Zwolenski said local officials also had to find seniors 75 and older who could drive themselves to the vaccination site or arrange for transportation there.
As result, Zwolenski contacted Linda Thibault, the town’s senior advisor, for help with its list, and also reached out to members of the town council, such as Claire O’Hara, for help making additional contacts with eligible residents.
As the outreach effort continued, word spread among local seniors that shots were becoming available, and Zwolenski said the town hall began to get overwhelmed by callers seeking more information on the program.
Town Councilwoman Kimberly Alves, the town’s EMA Director Peter Branconier, and Chief Chartier and his administrative assistant, Donna Robedo, all helped manage the crush of concerned callers. A final list was prepared, filling all of the town’s available slots for the weekend distribution, according to Zwolenski.
Although only 60 seniors 75 and older will get those vaccinations, Zwolenski said the town has also been informed that additional supplies of vaccine for that age group will be coming in mid-February when the state plans to continue community-based COVID-19 inoculations.
“We will be getting a certain number every week based on our population, starting mid-February,” Zwolenski explained. Branconier will be helping to manage the future local distributions through the town’s EMA office at town hall, Zwolenski noted.
“We stepped up to get this started because of the short notice,” Zwolenski said, noting that the list is now closed.
“We wish we could involve other people, but we were only allocated 60 vaccinations and they have all been taken.”
Cumberland Mayor Jeffrey Mutter on Friday reported a similar concern over the amount of vaccine available under the state’s community distributions, while noting his town was ready and able to handle whatever supplies are provided.
“We have a fully paramedic EMS staff, so we have a good plan and we have people to execute the plan,” Mutter said, while noting Cumberland EMS Chief John Pliakas and his EMTs were ready to distribute Cumberland supply of vaccine this weekend.
“I know we have under 200 doses, and it’s only for age 75 and older, and our plan is to dispense the allotment we do have to residents within that age group that reside in the elderly complexes in town,” Mutter said.
The Cumberland EMS staff will be making visits to the town’s senior residences to give the shots to residents eligible for the distribution, he added.
The biggest concern with the first distribution is the amount of vaccine available, Mutter noted.
“We’re ready to roll, we have the plan, the personnel, we actually even have one of the freezers needed if it is Pfizer vaccine, so we’re ready to go, and obviously we would be expecting more large-scale clinics once vaccine becomes available,” Mutter said. “That’s where we are right now.”
While he did not have a set number, Mutter pointed out that Cumberland has many more people aged 75 and older than the 200 first shots the town expects to distribute over the weekend.
As a result, Mutter said, the town has been reaching out to officials at the state level and beyond to push for greater supplies in the future, just as other communities are doing.
“This obviously is the most pressing issue that everyone is facing,” Mutter said of the demand for vaccine.
Like North Smithfield, Cumberland has received many calls from seniors seeking more information on when they can get vaccinated, Mutter noted. For now, that will depend on what the state can schedule for future distributions beginning in mid-February, he said.
“We have done what we could do to prepare, we’ve done that and we’ve got all the necessary infrastructure to execute the plan,” Mutter said. “We just don’t have the product, that’s the No. 1 problem right now.”
As for local seniors seeking a vaccination, Mutter said he would tell them “that there is some light at the end of the tunnel here, because we are getting some and we expect that to increase.”
Cumberland has the “personnel and infrastructure to do that safely,” he added.
“I guess the message right now is that there is light at the end of the tunnel,” Mutter said. “And hopefully it is a short tunnel.”
In Pawtucket on Friday, Mayor Donald Grebien was also managing strong interest by local seniors in getting vaccinated even as the town planned for distributing its share of the state’s community vaccine supply.
Pawtucket ended up with 340 slots for shots to be given at a Providence vaccination site set up by the state, according to Grebien, and had located eligible residents 75 and older to fill all of those appointments.
“We don’t have the shots, but they have given us 340 slots and we have firefighters involved that are going to down there Saturday and Sunday supporting with the other teams,” Grebien said of the weekend distribution for Pawtucket residents.
To prepare its list, Pawtucket used city records and voter registrations initially, then tapped its partnership with the Collette travel call center to do additional outreach and online contacts to reach eligible local residents.
Residents were able to call in or go online to make appointments and fill all of the available slots, the mayor noted.
The notification and outreach effort actually generated a list of many more people than there are available vaccines for the weekend, but Grebien said information will be directed for future distributions expected as well.
There are at least few thousand Pawtucket residents who would be eligible under the age 75 and over category who have not yet been reached under the earlier distributions done for nursing homes, congregate care centers and senior residents, according to Grebien.
“What we will be working on and finalizing Monday and Tuesday is that we’ve been told by the state that we will have approximately the same number of vaccinations per week for the week of Feb. 14, the week of Feb. 21, the week of Feb. 28, and the first week of March,” Grebien said.
The planning will involve selecting a number of sites through the city where EMS personnel can go to operate a local and convenient distribution for eligible residents by appointment on those dates, he noted.
“We are looking at our hotspots where we had COVID high numbers, accessibility, and we will be coordinating with the state and getting their sign off on the locations,” Grebien said of the still unfolding planning effort.
All of that will take some more time to be worked out for local seniors, according to Grebien.
“Honestly, we’re asking them to be patient, to be understanding, the vaccinations are coming,” the mayor said. “As soon we get them, what we are allotted from the state, we are going take every step and make sure we are delivering them in the best way we can.”