RI Adding 7,300 New Coronavirus Vaccine Appointments

PROVIDENCE, RI — About 7,300 new vaccine appointments will be added to Rhode Island's scheduling portal Tuesday morning, the Department of Health said. Starting Monday, residents aged 50 to 59 are now eligible to make an appointment.

As is the case every week, the new appointments will be added starting at 9 a.m. This batch will include appointments for the Dunkin' Donuts Center, Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston and the regional sites in Westerly, Johnston and East Providence.

"I am glad to be starting off the new week by expanding vaccine eligibility to Rhode Islanders 50 years and older,"Gov. Dan McKee said. "We’re moving quickly to build out our capacity and make vaccines accessible to all Rhode Island adults when our supply increases. I encourage Rhode Islanders to sign up for an appointment as soon as they are able to – getting shots in arms quickly is the fastest way through this pandemic."

Also this week, the state launched the new vaccine pre-registration system. Residents — including those who are not yet eligible to make appointments — can sign up on portal.ri.gov or by calling 844-930-1779 to get notified when an appointment becomes available for at state-run site. People can choose to get notified by email, phone or text message.

When an appointment becomes available, the system will send a one-time-use link to schedule. While there will usually be flexibility in the time, the appointment date and location will be set. The first notifications will be sent Wednesday.

Read more:

• New Coronavirus Rules Coming In Rhode Island April 26
• RIers Aged 50-59 Eligible For Coronavirus Vaccine Starting Monday
  
• RI's Upcoming Weekly Shipment Of J&J Vaccine 'Not Affected'
  
• RI Named In Top 10 Safest States During Coronavirus: WalletHub