Rhode Island Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott is resigning her post, leaving a major leadership hole at a time when the state’s health care system is straining under the pandemic’s latest wave. Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s office, which announced her departure Thursday, said the governor “regretfully” accepted her resignation. Alexander-Scott approached McKee about her plans […]
COVID-19
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Biden to send military personnel to help hospitals in Rhode Island as COVID-19 cases surge
Rhode Island is one of six states that will be receiving medical military personnel to help alleviate staffing shortages in hospitals, President Joseph Biden announced Thursday. Starting next week, 1,000 military medical personnel will begin arriving to help mitigate staffing crunches at hospitals across the country, including Rhode Island. A 23-person medical team — a […]
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Omicron surge forecast to peak in RI as early as this week
A forecasting model from a Brown University epidemiologist predicts that Rhode Island will see record high COVID-19 cases and hospitalization as early as this week. Health reporter Lynn Arditi spoke with John P. Fulton about the models he and his colleague at Brown’s School of Public Health developed for the state Department of Health. Dr. […]
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McKee orders indoor masking, proof of COVID-19 vaccinations starting Monday
Rhode Island is requiring that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks inside public spaces with a capacity of 250 people or more starting Monday. Restaurants, retailers, places of worship and other establishments with a capacity of under 250 people can allow patrons to go unmasked, if they show proof that they have been vaccinated […]
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First case of Omicron variant to COVID-19 identified in Rhode Island
The first case of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant has been identified in Rhode Island. The individual is a Providence County resident in their 20s who had recently returned from traveling in New York, Governor Daniel J. McKee and state health officials said in a statement Saturday. The individual had completed a primary vaccination […]
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Rhode Island hospital officials, physicians group call for indoor mask mandate
The recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island prompted the state’s largest hospital group and a physicians organization this week to call for a mandatory indoor mask mandate, a measure that Governor Daniel J. McKee has so far expressed reluctance to impose. Lifespan, which operates five hospitals including Rhode Island Hospital, the state’s only […]
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R.I. preparing to vaccinate children as young as 5
Rhode Island health officials are preparing to begin vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19 as early as Nov. 8. The state is placing orders for the kid-sized doses of the Pfizer vaccine in anticipation of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) meeting next week to consider their approval, said Alysia […]
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A Rhode Island pediatrician weighs in on vaccinating kids against COVID-19
Rhode Island may begin vaccinating children as young as age 5 against COVID-19 as early as Nov. 8. Dr. Elizabeth Lange, a pediatrician and former president of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, spoke with Health Reporter Lynn Arditi about vaccinating children. If a parent asks you how to weigh the […]
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R.I. mandate for health care workers drives up vaccination rates but 92 facilities still shy of 100% compliance
Rhode Island health care workers must now be vaccinated against COVID-19 or lose their jobs. By the Oct. 1 deadline, the overwhelming majority of those workers had decided to get vaccinated. “I kind of have to get it for work, so (it’s) not really an option,” said Emma Landroche, 22, a nursing assistant, as she […]
