Mayor Announces Woonsocket State COVID-19 Vaccination Site Scheduled for "Soft-Opening" on Sunday, March 28 and Details Phaseout Plans for Local POD Vaccination Site

Office of the Mayor

WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND

City Hall P.O. Box B Woonsocket, RI 02895

Telephone (401) 767-9205 Fax (401) 765-4569 E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 25, 2021

Contact: Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.: 401-767-9205

Mayor Announces Woonsocket State COVID-19 Vaccination Site Scheduled for "Soft-Opening" on Sunday, March 28 and Details Phaseout Plans for Local POD Vaccination Site

WOONSOCKET, R.I.: Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt announced today that the State operated mass vaccination site at the former Sears store located in the Walnut Hill Plaza at

1500 Diamond Hill Road is scheduled for a "soft-opening" on Sunday, March 28th with 400 doses of vaccine (Pfizer) expected to be distributed from 2:00 PM through 6:00 PM. Appointments for this day will be posted and available for scheduling according to current State age and underlying health condition protocols on the State’s website www.vaccinateri.org starting March 26th at 5:00 PM. This will be the first State mass vaccination site in Northern Rhode Island and will service all Rhode Island residents.

The Mayor also announced that the "Woonsocket and North Smithfield resident only" point-of-distribution (POD) site at the former Monsignor Gadoury School will cease operations after all residents who are currently scheduled to receive their second vaccination dose at that location receive their dose. It is expected that these already scheduled second doses will be administered over the next two weeks. The Woonsocket POD will close due to plans by the State to concentrate available vaccine doses to the State site on Diamond Hill Road. Additionally, a greater number of alternative sites such as CVS, Walgreens and Walmart are now offering COVID-19 vaccines.

Mayor Baldelli-Hunt exclaimed, "This is welcome news for Northern Rhode Islanders who want to receive the vaccine but who are not able to travel far to get one. I am pleased that the State chose Woonsocket as the host City for this important function. This State-run site will help ensure that all of our Woonsocket residents as well as those residents in neighboring communities are able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in a timely manner." City Hall ⬧ P.O. Box B ⬧ Woonsocket , RI 02895 Telephone (401) 767-9205 ⬧ Fax (401) 765-4569 ⬧ E-Mail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Mayor added, "I am very appreciative for the dedication and hard work put in by Chief Paul Shatraw, Chief David Chartier, EMS Director Tim Walsh, City workers, local health care professionals, student volunteers from Mount Saint Charles Academy and young volunteers enrolled in the Woonsocket and North Smithfield Police Explorers Program that made our Woonsocket POD a great success. I also want to thank Father Daniel Sweet and the Holy Trinity Parish for their support and use of their facilities."

Woonsocket Fire Chief Paul Shatraw stated, "Our local POD will have efficiently vaccinated over 1,600 of our most vulnerable Woonsocket and North Smithfield senior residents, as well as 530 teachers and support staff, before we phase it out in a few weeks; most of whom would not be vaccinated if not for our local POD."

The State COVID-19 vaccination site on Diamond Hill Road will administer vaccines by "appointment only" according to State eligibility requirements. New appointments will be posted on www.vaccinateri.org on Tuesdays at 9:00 AM and Fridays at 5:00 PM. Anyone unable to register for an online vaccination appointment can receive help by calling 844-930-1779. The state vaccination site on Diamond Hill Road is planning to initially be open two days a week starting the week of April 4th and will expand days of operation as vaccine allocations increase.

Woonsocket residents who have already registered for a vaccine at the City’s POD at the Monsignor Gadoury School, but who have not yet received their first vaccine or have been scheduled for their second, will need to re-register on the States website at www.vaccinateri.org. The City will make every effort to contact these individuals to inform them of this requirement.

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