Latest Alerts & Guidance

Effective Monday, December 20, 2021, Rhode Island establishments are required to follow updated masking and proof of vaccination mitigation measures as per Governor McKee’s Executive Order 21-116: 

Masking is required of employees and patrons inside venues with a capacity of 250 or more regardless of vaccination status. 

Masking or proof of vaccination is required of employees and patrons inside venues with a capacity of fewer than 250 persons. 

For information about the new COVID-19 mitigation measures, please review these answers to Frequently Asked Questions.  

For information on what the new COVID-19 mitigation measures mean for businesses and work places, please visit RIDOH’s Information for Workplaces page. 

Businesses that have questions on these new measures can call the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation hotline at 401-889-5550 or complete an electronic form at taskforce.dbr.ri.gov. 

Get a copy of your COVID-19 vaccine record through portal.ri.gov/VaccineRecord. 

If you live in Rhode Island but got vaccinated against COVID-19 outside of Rhode Island, you can use the Immunization Record Correction form to add your information to the Rhode Island Child and Adult Immunization Registry (RICAIR). 

If there is an error with your Immunization record or you cannot access your record through portal.ri.gov/VaccineRecord, use the Immunization Record Correction Request form.  

The RICAIR office is open Monday through Friday. Please note that requests are addressed in the order they are received. Thank you in advance for your patience.  

Rhode Island has a doctor-recommended treatment for COVID-19. If you test positive for COVID-19, started having mild to moderate symptoms in the last 10 days, and are at high risk for progressing to severe disease, immediately call your healthcare provider and ask about treatment. The earlier you start treatment, the more effective it is.

COVID-19 vaccine is now one of the many vaccines that healthcare providers and healthcare workers are required to receive. Rhode Island regulations (216-RICR-20-15-8) require that healthcare providers and healthcare workers have received a complete series of COVID-19 vaccine (one dose of Johnson & Johnson, two doses of Pfizer or Moderna) by October 1, 2021.  

For more information on the regulation, actions healthcare facilities need to take, and answers to frequently asked questions, please visit this page (covid.ri.gov/vaxrequirement).

If you have a question that is not captured in the current Frequently Asked Questions document, please send us a message. Legal questions may not be answered as facilities and employees should review legal questions internally with their legal counsel. 

Third doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are available to certain Rhode Islanders who are moderately to severely immunocompromised.

If you are eligible, you can get your third dose at any of the places where vaccine is currently available.

Eligible people should get their third dose at least 28 days after their second dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

For more information on getting a third dose, visit COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs.

Everyone age 16 or older who has already received a primary series of COVID-19 vaccine should get a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 

Rhode Island has high community transmission of COVID-19. This means we are seeing more and more cases. As we move indoors for the winter, most people age 16 or older will be at higher risk for exposure to COVID-19 and should get a booster dose. 

Please note that only the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for use by people younger than 18. This means that people age 16 and 17 must choose the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for their booster dose. 

For more recommendations and information, visit covid.ri.gov/boosterdoses.

For CDC COVID-19 booster dose guidelines, visit CDC's booster web page. 

On December 10, 2021, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) identified the first case of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529). The current data tell us that Omicron is highly contagious. Currently, most COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island are caused by the Omicron variant.

Getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, and weekly testing are more important than ever to stop the Omicron and Delta variants from spreading and to protect the progress we’ve made. Learn more at covid.ri.gov/variants.

Many Rhode Islanders living in specific geographies have experienced higher rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths throughout the pandemic. Such differences are directly connected to the social conditions in which some communities of color are more likely to live and work every day, and to systems of structural racism and discrimination that have historically undermined the health and well-being of these communities. 

RIDOH believes reaching high vaccination rates across all individuals and communities regardless of ZIP code is key to saving lives and achieving broader population immunity. Learn about Rhode Island's Hard-Hit Community Vaccination Strategy.  

Monday – Friday: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday – Sunday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Phone: 401-222-8022
After hours: Call 211

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