RI Leaders Push For COVID-19 Boosters Ahead Of Thanksgiving

PROVIDENCE, RI — With Thanksgiving just a few days away, Gov. Dan McKee and state health leaders are encouraging all eligible Rhode Islanders to get their COVID-19 booster shot.

Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, said last week that all residents aged 18 and up were eligible to get a booster shot.

"Booster doses are a critical tool in our fight to limit serious illness from COVID-19, and to limit transmission of COVID-19," Alexander-Scott said. "When you get a booster dose, you start to build some additional immunity almost right away. Everyone who is 18 and older, who is already fully vaccinated, and who plans to see family and friends on Thanksgiving should get a booster dose as soon as possible to help protect themselves and the people they love."

Booster shots are available at all vaccine clinics statewide, except for school-based clinics for children aged 5 through 11.

"Get your third dose as soon as possible," Gov. Dan McKee said. "A shot today can help our community members protect each other as we head indoors for the colder months. Vaccinations are now available for almost all Rhode Islanders. A short appointment can save lives and prevent empty seats around the table this holiday season."

Anyone 18 years or older can get a booster shot if they want to, if the six-month window has passed. Boosters are available to anyone who got the single dose J&J vaccine two months after the initial shot.

Booster shots have been available in the state since late September, when a third Pfizer shot was given the green light from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Food and Drug Administration. On Oct. 22, additional shots were approved for Moderna and Johnson and Johnson, as well.

When boosters were first rolled out, they were recommended for those most at risk of contracting or experiencing serious complications from COVID-19 such as hospitalization or death. This included anyone aged 65 or older, those who are immunocompromised and people who are at a higher risk of getting COVID-19 because of their living or working situations.