This weekend Lisa DeNunziowill be able to breathe easierthan she has innearly a year. Her 101-year-old mother-in-law, Helen DeNunzio,received her first COVID-19 shot Thursday.
"It's like a weight off your chest," DeNunzio,58, said Thursday afternoon, a few hoursbefore Helen's vaccination appointment at the CVS pharmacy on Hope Street in Providence.
"It is peace of mind. She has been living ina bubble since March," DeNunzio said of Helen, who enjoyed line dancing at a Pawtucketsenior center before COVID hit."Maybe she can come back out and have fun."
The DeNunzio family's relief isanother step in the slowly expanding COVID vaccination effort in Rhode Island, which sawretail pharmacies begin administering shots to residents 75 and older last weekend.
CVS to double vaccine distribution in the state
On Friday, CVS will more than double its vaccinations in the state as it launches a new program with Moderna vaccine provided directly by the federal government.
Walgreens is vaccinating at 14 stores in nine Rhode Island communities.
Both CVS and Walgreens are receiving2,000 doses per week from the state.
Woonsocket-based CVS is receiving an additional 3,000 doses per week from the federal government, which it is using to expand from two stores — in Providence and Johnston — to another five locations in East Greenwich, Newport, Westerly, Warren, Westerly and Woonsocket.
Like all Rhode Island vaccinations to date, the pharmacy vaccinations are happening by appointment only, and many residents are still confused about when, how and where they will be able to get a shot.
Who can get vaccinated at a pharmacy?
Residents 75 and older are now the target population of the pharmacy vaccination clinics, as well as the locally run and soon-to-open state-run clinics.
Health-care workers, first responders and people in other high-risk professions that were in the first phase of vaccinations can also get shots at a pharmacy, but at this point many have already gotten them through their employers.
As the state's public vaccination eligibility expands — next is residents 65 and older — the pharmacy vaccinations should expand with it.
How canseniors get an appointment for vaccination?
The CVS and Walgreens COVID vaccinations are by appointment only and the chains have set up dedicateddigital systems to schedule people for shots.
That means theclerks andpharmacists behind the counter or answering the phones at individual stores will not be able to schedule appointments.
To do that, log onto each pharmacy's website to see if slots are available.
In the early days, there's a good chance they won't be.
CVS began taking reservations for the five new stores opening up on Friday, and by midday Thursday nothing was available on its website.
"My daughter had a hard time getting an appointment," DeNunzio said. "She had to keep goingonline at7 a.m. each day and finally something came up.
Renee Savory, who oversees a dozen CVS stores includingHope Street in Providence, said the appointment system booksseven days in advance.
Patients enter their insurance information online and anyone without a Rhode Island address or eligible date of birth can't get an appointment, Savory said.
For those lucky enough to get an appointment, they will get a confirmation text message, which they use to check in at the store.
More:RI will loosen up on social-gathering limit, bars and churches
Is there a non-Internet option?
Yes. CVS has set up a central phone line, not connected to any brick-and-mortar store, where you can try to sign up: 1-800-746-7287.
However, with appointments filling up soon after they become available online, readers report that thephone line is justreferringcallersto the website.
If youget an appointment, do you just show up atthe pharmacy counter like a flu shot?
No. CVS is setting up separate areas in each store where the COVID shots happen and greeters at the front door will lead those with appointments to this area.
Customers are asked to arriveat most 15 minutes before their appointment time to maintain social distancing in the store.
If you get to the store really early in the morning, can you get a spot if someone cancels?
No. The pharmacies don't want anyone lining up for any reason inside or outside the store.
Can family and companions of those over 75 get vaccinated?
No. This isn't Massachusetts, where younger companions will bevaccinated along with age-qualified residents and people have taken to Craigslist offeringchaperone services.
"We are focused on vaccinating people at highest risk, such as people 75 and older," stateHealth Department Spokesman Joseph Wendelken said Thursday. when asked if the state was considering companion vaccination.
If there is no waiting list, what happens at the end of the day when someone has to cancel?
Savory saidhaving extra doses at the end of the day israre at the moment, but when there are surprise cancelations, no shots go to waste.
The stores in Providence and Johnston getting vaccine from the state are administering doses seven days a week and the stores opening Friday will be giving shots Fridaythrough Monday. They can deliver up to 180doses per day.
What's the difference between the pharmacy clinics and governmentclinics?
Mostly their size.
The state is opening two mass vaccinations sites next Thursday -- one onSockanosset Cross Road in Cranston and the other at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence -- that will be able deliver more than a hundred shots per hour.
When they open each of these two large vaccinations centers will have more available appointments than a local CVS, but the pharmacies are being used because of their convenience for many residents.
On top of that there are a growing number of municipally run clinics that are opening up vaccine appointments to the public as doses are become available from the state.
Cities and towns are signing people up for these shots in different ways, but many already have wait lists. Providence on Friday announced began taking first-come, first-served reservations for residents 75 and older at its clinics.
panderson@providencejournal.com
(401) 277-7384
On Twitter: @PatrickAnderso_
