PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — More than 50,000 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far in Rhode Island, while more than 12,500 people are now fully vaccinated, having received their second and final shot.

During the R.I. Department of Health’s weekly briefing on Thursday, Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott and Consultant Medical Director Dr. Philip Chan discussed the state’s distribution efforts, including who’s next in line to receive the vaccine.

“We are administering the doses that we have in a way that will have the greatest impact on the health of our state, and with a deliberate focus on equity,” Alexander-Scott said. “Equity, fairness and transparency have been priorities for us throughout, and they will remain priorities going forward.”

Chan reiterated that the state is currently only receiving about 14,000 doses per week, so they’re forced to take a step-by-step approach in deciding who gets immunized. He said the state doesn’t have the supply to start vaccinating people 65 and older, as the CDC has recommended.

“It would not be honest or fair of us here at the Department of Health and the state to tell all people older than 65 years of age that they can be vaccinated today, because we just don’t have that amount of vaccine, unfortunately,” Chan said.

Assisted-living facilities and other congregate care centers started vaccinating their residents and staff this week, according to Chan. He anticipates the vaccine will be available to all Rhode Islanders ages 75 and older by the mid-February.

“We are asking everyone for their patience just a little bit longer,” Chan added. “We promise there will be vaccine for every person in Rhode Island who wants one in the future.”

Chan said they’ll be presenting their proposed plans for Phase II of the distribution plan to the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Subcommittee Friday morning, and they hope to have those finalized by next week.

He also sought to debunk a rumor going around that the vaccine affects women’s ability to have a baby, saying “there is zero scientific basis to this claim.”

“There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine causes increased risk of infertility, first or second trimester loss, stillbirth, congenital anomalies, or other congenital defects,” Chan said.

“We’re also hearing other things such as that this vaccine could cause COVID-19 itself and that this vaccine can alter your DNA,” he continued. “Those are also categorically false.”

Both Alexander-Scott and Chan recommended signing up for their weekly vaccine updates on the Health Department’s website.

Alexander-Scott also discussed how Rhode Island’s positivity and hospitalization rates have been trending downward since early December. With more than 20,000 tests administered on Wednesday and 698 new infections reported, the daily positive rate came out to 3.5%, which is the lowest for the state since it was 3% back on Oct. 30.

“These trends and the fact that more and more vaccine is slowly but steadily getting administered every day in Rhode Island, our signs are all going in the right direction,” Alexander-Scott said. “However, COVID-19 is not going away tomorrow, as much as we would like it to, it’s not.”

To that end, she urged Rhode Islanders to continue taking preventative measures such as wearing masks, washing hands, and social distancing, even after receiving the vaccine. She said that while the vaccine will prevent most people from getting very sick, it’s still unclear whether it will totally prevent people from contracting or spreading the virus.

“If you’ve been vaccinated and test positive for COVID-19 — you must still isolate,” she explained. “If you’ve been vaccinated and are a close contact of someone who tested positive or have recently traveled to another state with a high positivity rate — you must still quarantine. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 — you should isolate at home, call your health care provider and get tested for COVID-19, whether or not you have received the vaccine.”

Alexander-Scott encouraged all Rhode Islanders to get tested regularly, saying two new sites opened on Thursday:

  • Middletown: Knights of Columbus Hall on Valley Road — 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
  • Woonsocket: Thundermist on Clinton Street — 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. daily

Visit portal.ri.gov to schedule an appointment.

She said testing is especially important after the newer, highly contagious coronavirus strain was detected in neighboring Massachusetts. While the strain has not yet been found in Rhode Island, Alexander-Scott said it’s “only a matter of time.”

COVID-19 Tracking: Maps, Charts, Interactive Data »

As of midday Thursday, 379 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in Rhode Island, with 51 in intensive care and 36 on ventilators.

The Health Department also reported that another 18 people in Rhode Island have died after contracting COVID-19.

Seven of those people were in their 80s, according to Alexander-Scott, while four were in their 70s, three were in their 90s, and two each were in their 50s and 60s.

Thursday’s briefing was led by Alexander-Scott, since Gov. Gina Raimondo has stepped back from that role as she prepares to make the move to Washington as President Joe Biden’s nominee for commerce secretary.

Raimondo has drawn the ire of local media and open government groups for having not answered questions publicly for the past month, even as the pandemic drags on.

Thursday also marked one full year since the country’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 was discovered in Washington state.