Rhode Island hits 1 millionth dose of coronavirus vaccine
PROVIDENCE, R.I (WLNE) – On Tuesday morning, Governor Dan McKee announced The Ocean State has hit one million administered vaccines for the Coronavirus.
The major milestone was announced at The Gerry House, at Rhode Island Hospital, where the first dose was administered.
“We’re not going to stop at a million,” Governor Dan McKee said. “We won’t stop until every person who wants a shot gets one and we are going to reach the folks who are on the fence and get them to understand that these vaccines are safe, they’re effective, and they save lives.”
The first dose was given 140 days ago on December 14th, 2020.
Dr. Mitchell Levy Director of Critical Care Medicine at Lifespan, was the second person to get vaccinated. Today, he stood with confidence saying that we’re close to the finish line.
“When I think back on these 14 months, for so long, we were really struggling in the dark with this terrible illness,” Dr. Levy said.
That struggle is all too familiar for Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos who looked back on her father’s battle and recovery from COVID-19.
“Last year at this time, my dad had just come out of the hospital from being there for over a month and being intubated for 9 days,” Lieutenant Governor Matos said.
While the one-millionth dose marks a massive milestone, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott with the Department of Health says the next step is to get kids vaccinated. She says infections are rising in children and the state is ready to open eligibility to those 12-15 years-old.
“We want our kids to be able to enjoy this summer and do it in a way that parents can breathe easily and know that their kids aren’t at risk of being infected with a more contagious virus now that is more severe,” Dr. Alexander-Scott said. “There are about 50,000 or so in the 12 to 15 age group, so we want to call out to all the parents, all the children who can talk to your parents, go ahead and get protected.”
