If you receive a phone call from Bill McCombe asking your age without first dispensing with the usual niceties, just answer the question. McCombe is co-director of the Emergency Management Task Group, and has taken charge of organizing Covid-19 vaccination events for full-time residents of Block Island.
McCombe has been busy making lists of year-round residents’ ages so that as many as possible can get vaccinated against Covid-19 when doses become available from the Rhode Island Department of Health and are dispensed according to age group.
When Block Island received its first batch, staff at the Medical Center, along with fire, rescue, and police personnel were prioritized. The segment of the population over 90 years of age came next.
On Saturday, Feb. 20 a drive-through vaccination event was held for those 75 years and older. On Monday, Feb. 22, the state opened up the next cohort eligible to receive the vaccine, those 65 and older. And so, with enough new doses, another vaccine event was held the next day.
Although there was a simple form to fill out, there was no need to spend hours on hold to make an appointment through the state; no portals, no crashing
