Once praised for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials have been been criticized for what has been characterized by many as a botched rollout of the vaccine.

A look at the data available at the Rhode Island Department of Health website reveals a significant gap between vaccine received and vaccine administered. For example, as of Feb. 2, the state reports 176,150 doses received, with a total of 102,384 administered. With most in the state eager to receive the vaccine, what’s the delay? It’s unclear, as the state has repeatedly said they are working hard to implement their strategy, but for many, their strategy has been part of the problem from the outset.

“Why has Rhode Island not been following CDC guidance?” asked Bristol resident Dave Scarpino. Rhode Island’s equity model, which has focused on getting vaccines to high density communities, has drawn strong criticism from those who note that most other states, at the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control, have focused on vaccinating senior citizens, who are most likely to have a bad outcome from COVID. “We need to do what’s right for the most vulnerable,” said Mr. Scarpino.

It’s a debate that was recently joined by the Rhode Island chapter of the AARP, which came out strongly advocating for a change in state policy. “Rhode Islanders 50 and older account for nearly 98 percent of the state’s more than 2,000 COVID total deaths,” said AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell. “The governor and state leaders must revise the vaccination plan so that it focuses on the most vulnerable among us.”

It’s an argument the state seems to have heard, as it issued a revised vaccination plan late last week.

The plan incorporates CDC guidance without totally abandoning the focus on high-density communities, making vaccine available to Rhode Islanders over the coming months based on a combination of age, geography, and health. 

“The approach we are taking for the next phase of the vaccination campaign is firmly grounded in the science and the data on how to use our currently limited vaccine supply to prevent the most hospitalizations, to prevent the most deaths, and to get the economy fully open again as quickly as possible,” said Nicole Alexander-Scott. “We want to get as many people as possible vaccinated as quickly as possible. But without enough vaccine to vaccinate all eligible people right away, we have to be extremely targeted and strategic in our approach.”

According to the state, focusing on age, geography, and high-risk conditions rather than occupation for this next phase of the vaccination campaign will still reach significant proportions of critical workers in Rhode Island, including approximately 58 percent of K-12 teachers and staff.

Advised that there would be a batch of vaccine available in mid-February for this next phase, and the state would be leaving the distribution up to local governments, Bristol leaders, including Town Administrator Steven Contente and Fire Chief Michael DeMello, got together to determine how this would be done. They decided that a person’s age would be the best criteria, and established a registration to identify who in town should be first in line.

Not all seniors are happy

For Mo and Pat Dalessio, residents of Benjamin Church Manor for the last nine years, it can’t come soon enough. In their early seventies, the Dalessios don’t qualify for this first round of vaccines, and they don’t think that’s entirely fair. “I think as senior citizens, 62 onward, we should all be grouped together,” said Mrs. Dalessio. “This whole thing has been very stressful.”

Mr. Dalessio questions why residents of Franklin Court were prioritized over Benjamin Church Manor. “There are places like Franklin Court, everyone got it, even those under 75,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair that it should have gone to one senior housing and not another.”

(Note: because Franklin Court Independent Living is under the same roof as Franklin Court Assisted Living, and they share many public spaces, Franklin Court Independent Living was identified as one of a handful of such facilities statewide that were vaccinated in the first phase, along with congregate care facilities.)

The Dalessios aren’t sure what method, other than age, is more fair, but they are frustrated that, in this initial, over-75 phase at least, pre-existing conditions are not part of the equation.

“The criteria has to be age as well as physical condition, said Mr. Dalessio, citing several of his own underlying conditions. “We were told that those would be taken into consideration … I called Cicilline’s office, and they said they were working on it, but as of yet nothings been done. And of course when you want these things done you want them done now, not in three weeks or four weeks or a month.”

In terms of who they think should be held responsible for the allocation of vaccines, from the federal to state to local government, the Dalessios are not sure who is most responsible for the fact that they still don’t have their shots.

“That’s a good question,” said Mr. Dalessio. “I guess it’s whoever in the town is responsible for deciding who gets what when. Somebody has to be. The state can determine how many doses, but town decides who gets it.”

In the meantime, the Dalessios wait for their vaccine, and do what they’ve been doing since this all began, nearly a year ago. “We’re eating,” said Mrs. Dalessio, “and we’re eating and eating,” agreed her husband.

“In the summer we used to take our mocha and go out to Colt State Park,” said Mrs. Dalessio. “And he goes to the grocery store. But that’s it.”

Blames the feds

For Robert Lindenburg of Sullivan Lane, the origins of this slow rollout are more clear. “You have to look about 600 miles away, in Washington, DC,” he said. “It was an election year, a chaotic year. Local administrators are as confused as we are, I’m sure. They want to help.”

In his late eighties, so eligible for the first batch this month, Mr. Lindenburg successfully registered for the wait list on Monday morning, which he said went very smoothly.

“The process of registering was no problem at all,” he said “The problem has been we’ve been so confused as to what’s happening, all along. It’s coming from the top, and it filters down.”

“I remember my years in business, and this is the same — it’s about project management. We always followed the KISS principle: Keep it Simple, Stupid.”

Mr. Lindenburg wonders why the state did not begin by identifying the senior centers in the state, of which there is one in every community. “We in Bristol are fortunate that we have the best,” he said. “It’s a well-run organization. Why wasn’t this whole thing run out of these existing centers — they know the seniors.”

At the state level, he feels like the plan, to date, has not had a lot of balance — and the East Bay has gotten the short end of the stick. But he’s hopeful that the state’s shift toward priority of the senior population will be more equitable. Until then, he’s home, and looking forward to getting back to his pre-pandemic life, when he was an active volunteer.

“I’m a prisoner of the pandemic,” he said.

In an effort to provide some clarity for local residents, Reps. June Speakman and Susan Donovan hosted a Zoom-based question and answer session for the community on the evening of Monday, Feb. 1, with Dr. Philip Chan of the health department; some 75 residents joined. For those who did not, both representatives said they would be posting the recording of the session on their respective Facebook pages.