PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Some Rhode Islanders could receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine as soon as next week, state officials said in a virtual news conference.
“It’s the beginning of the end of the pandemic,” Dr. Philip Chan, consultant medical director with the state Department of Health’s Division of Preparedness, Response, Infectious Disease and Emergency Medical Services, said Thursday.
Hospital workers, first responders, and staff and residents of longterm care facilities will be among the first to get the vaccine, officials said.
However, it will be months before everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to receive it, officials said.
Tricia Washburn, of the state Health Department’s Center for Preventive Services and co-lead of the state’s COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Workgroup, said both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are effective and safe.
Alysia Mihalakos, the other co-lead of the Mass Vaccination Workgroup and chief of the department’s Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response, said the state expects to receive 10,000 doses initially from Pfizer and 19,000 doses initially from Moderna.
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