All RI residents 18 and older now cleared for COVID booster shots — in time for the holidays

PROVIDENCE — With transmission of the highly contagious delta variant rising, colder weather here, and Thanksgiving next week kicking off the holiday season, Rhode Island has joined just a handful of states in allowing all fully vaccinated residents 18 and older to receive a booster shot.

Previously, boosters were permitted only for residents in high-risk groups, including those 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions.

“Winter's coming, our cases have gone up and everyone 18 and older is at higher risk of exposure. And so we want the message to go out that you can go ahead and get your booster shots,” state Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said at Gov. Dan McKee’s news conference Tuesday.

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Other states open to all adults

Arkansas, California, Colorado and New Mexico are other states allowing residents 18 and older to get boosters, and New York City also has opened them to all adults.

In framing the recommendation to open booster shots to the state’s entire adult population, Alexander-Scott noted an uptick in the positivity rate.

“Our percent positivity was 3.2% last week, roughly double what it was only just a month ago,” the director said. It now has climbed past 4%.

But unlike a year ago, when many marked the holidays in near-lockdown mode, this season, Alexander-Scott said, need not be as restrictive.

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“We have the tools to protect us,” she said, and not only for gatherings, but for schools and athletics. She listed some of the key ones: vaccination, masking where appropriate, social distancing, regular testing, good ventilation and staying home without visitors when feeling sick.

“If you're hosting Thanksgiving, you might want to keep it smaller and only have people who are vaccinated if they're eligible,” she said. “You can eliminate potential stress or misunderstandings on Thanksgiving Day by reaching out now to the people you will be spending the holiday with to make sure everyone is on the same page. Use it as an opportunity to encourage someone who wondered whether or not they should get vaccinated.”

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Flu shots recommended

In another development at Tuesday’s media briefing, held at the Department of Administration building, Alexander-Scott said that Rhode Island is seeing an unusually early spike in cases of influenza.

“The flu numbers we’re seeing now in Rhode Island we sometimes don't see until January,” she said. Her message, here, too: get vaccinated.

Alexander-Scott also said that 13% of the state's approximately 80,000 children ages 5 to 11 have received a shot of vaccine. Eligibility opened for that youngest age group on Nov. 4; the second shot should be administered three weeks after the first.

On Tuesday, the state Health Department reported five coronavirus-related deaths and 557 additional cases of COVID-19, along with 11,960 negative tests, for a 4.4% positive rate. There were 106 COVID-positive patients in Rhode Island hospitals at last count, up from 98 reported Monday. Rhode Island has reported an average of 372 new cases a day over the last seven days, up 31% from a week ago and up 69% from two weeks ago.

The seven-day new case average is the highest it’s been since April, although it remains far below the level of last November. A year ago, Rhode Island was averaging 845 new cases a day, and there were 334 COVID-positive hospital patients.

With reports from Managing Editor Michael McDermott

COVID by the numbers

Cases in R.I.: 184,777 (557 reported Tuesday)

Negative tests in R.I.: 5,668,274 (11,960 reported Tuesday; 4.4% positive rate)

R.I. COVID-related deaths: 2,901 (5 reported Tuesday)

Rhode Islanders hospitalized with COVID: 106 (18 in intensive care)

Fully vaccinated in R.I.: 752,133 (829,349 at least partially vaccinated)

Cases in Mass.: 879,127

Mass. COVID-related deaths: 19,189

Cases in U.S.: 47,236,789

U.S. COVID-related deaths: 764,637

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: All RI residents 18+ can now get COVID boosters