COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose Booster doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are available to eligible Rhode Islanders as of Friday, September 24. This follows CDC’s recommendation to make booster doses of Pfizer vaccine available to certain people. For more information on eligibility, please see https://covid.ri.gov/boosterdoses. People who are eligible should get their booster doses at least six months after their second dose of Pfizer. We expect demand for Pfizer vaccine to be high through October given our very high vaccination rates. We encourage everyone to make an appointment to get vaccinated when possible. This will help Rhode Island be able to administer vaccines quickly and efficiently. You can find appointments at any of the options listed at C19VaccineRI.org. If you need help making an appointment, please call 844-930-1779 or 2-1-1.
How You Can Help the Rhode Island COVID-19 Response Rhode Island is doing all it can to keep Rhode Islanders safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. But we’re stronger if we all work together. Governor Raimondo continues to call on healthcare professionals and staff, schools of public health or medicine, and other willing individuals and volunteers to come forward to support the state’s response. It's going to be hard, it's going to be disruptive, but we will get through this together. Other ways you can volunteer or help in the pandemic response are summarized below. Alternate Hospital Site Opportunities Rhode Island recently opened two alternate hospital sites to care for COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. If you are interested in working at one of them, visit these job postings: Kent Hospital’s Alternate Hospital Site (Cranston) www.carenewengland.org/careers/results backtowork.skillsforri.com/job-board/for-job-seekers-field-hospital Rhode Island Hospital's Alternate Hospital Site (Providence) www.lifespan.org/covid-community Other Paid Opportunities in Healthcare Nursing homes, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations are also in dire need of more healthcare workers and ancillary staff. For listings for these positions, visit www.SkillsforRI.com. Healthcare Volunteers If you have physical or mental healthcare experience but can’t commit to full-time work in our hospitals or nursing homes, or if you don’t have healthcare experience but want to volunteer to assist our statewide response in other ways, please visit www.RIResponds.org to sign up as a response volunteer. RIDOH COVID-19 Volunteers As part of the emergency response to the pandemic caused by COVID-19, the RI Department of Health has identified many areas in need of volunteers. Please visit www.RIResponds.org if you are interested in volunteering. Medical Supply Donations Due to the nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE, disinfectants, and hand sanitizer, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) created a process to manage medical supply donations to support the healthcare system in Rhode Island. After months of accepting donations of all sizes through this system, we have brought it to a close. The supply chain is still not back to pre-pandemic reliability and availability, but we remain cautiously optimistic with our ongoing procurements. We thank you all and can’t tell you how much we appreciate all offers of supplies we have received. We’re encouraged by the outpouring of support from the research community and the public. Offers by Manufacturers and Suppliers All those interested in doing business with the State of Rhode Island should visit www.ridop.ri.gov to see what bidding opportunities are available. Help Promote Virtual Art Events These uncertain times have affected so many parts of our lives, including the arts. The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) wants to help share information for our artists and audiences about virtual art offerings. Help us promote these events.
