Attorney general's office reviewing who is getting COVID vaccines in RI

PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Attorney General’s office is looking into whether the state Department of Health is adequately supervising the distribution of COVID vaccines being dispensed by Rhode Island's two largest hospital groups.

The call for a review comes days after The Providence Journal reported that some board members at Lifespan and trustees at Care New England, the two hospital groups, have been offered vaccinations, even as most Rhode Island seniors may have to wait until February or March.  

“We have been in communication with the Department of Health regarding the distribution of vaccines by Lifespan and Care New England,” said Kristy dosReis, spokeswoman for Attorney General Peter Neronha.

“Vaccine distribution should be guided by public health and done in accordance with the guidelines provided by RIDOH. Any deviation from those guidelines is of great concern to this office. We intend to look into any improper distribution to determine whether legal violations occurred.“

“Whether or not any legal violations occurred, we urge the entities that are charged with vaccine administration to do so in an equitable and transparent manner and in strict compliance with RIDOH guidance.”

As The Journal reported last week, both Lifespan and Care New England, like some other hospital companies around the country, had expanded vaccine eligibility to all employees, no matter their age or risk of exposure. That includes top administrators, media-relations specialists and people who work remotely.

However, Westerly Hospital and CharterCARE, which owns Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center, and South County Health said last week that their board members weren't being offered vaccines.  

The vaccines, manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, are being dispensed on a priority basis established by the health department. 

Phase 1 has included frontline and other hospital workers, first responders, and residents and employees of long-term-care facilities. But prison inmates and staff, along with residents in places like Central Falls with a high rate of infection, have also been offered vaccines.

Health Department spokesman Joseph Wendelken reiterated Wednesday that one of the aims of Phase 1 is to protect “our hospital infrastructure so emergency care is available for people when it’s needed. For that reason, the hospitals are being allocated vaccine to vaccinate throughout their organizations incrementally. “

Wendelken said the hospitals were told to “vaccinate highest exposure healthcare workers first.” Other people throughout hospitals are also getting vaccinated after them because, even though they are not always "patient facing," they are "part of what makes a hospital function. That includes people like social workers, laboratory staff, administrators, IT professionals, and dieticians.”

Wendelken said the department is now asking hospitals “to help us start getting the outpatient providers vaccinated more quickly.”