RI To Start 'Winding Down' Mass Coronavirus Vaccination Sites

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI — As Rhode Island transitions into the next phase of pandemic recovery, the large, state-run vaccination sties will slow down operations=, state officials announced Thursday.

Tom McCarthy, the executive director of the state's COVID-19 vaccination effort, said that mass sites will be "ramping down," in a similar approach as the two field hospitals, which were slowly taken out of use but kept ready for several months in case they were needed again. In the same way, fewer clinics will be scheduled at certain mass vaccination sites, but they will be kept at the ready for future use.

The South County site at Schneider Electric will be the first to slow operations this weekend, McCarthy said, followed by the Woonsocket site the following weekend. Staff will be reduced at these sites, and fewer first-dose opportunities will be available to schedule.

McCarthy assured Rhode Island that "there are still plenty of places to get vaccinated." This includes community clinics, retail partners such as pharmacies and other pop-up sites.

Read more about the state's vaccination effort on the Rhode Island Department of Health's website.