NEWS

‘Today is a big day’

McKee, others pay visit as Cranston begins vaccinating educators, child care workers at Senior Center clinic site

By DANIEL A. KITTREDGE
Posted 3/17/21

By DANIEL KITTREDGE There's been a lot to celebrate at the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center in recent weeks as the city's oldest residents have received their initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. On March 12, educators and child care workers began

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NEWS

‘Today is a big day’

McKee, others pay visit as Cranston begins vaccinating educators, child care workers at Senior Center clinic site

Posted

There’s been a lot to celebrate at the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center in recent weeks as the city’s oldest residents have received their initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

On March 12, educators and child care workers began getting their shots at the local clinic, too – and a number of dignitaries, including Gov. Dan McKee, paid a visit to mark the occasion.

“We want to get the schools open as widely as we can before the end of the school year, and focus on a full opening in September for both our K-12 and our higher education in the state of Rhode Island,” the governor told members of the media after touring the Cranston Street facility.

“It’s a great community spirit … engaging people, involving people at this level, especially at this juncture in the COVID-19 virus, is going to create really a commitment that we need right now to move past the finish line in a way that’s safe,” he added.

Mayor Ken Hopkins, a former educator, said there were “a lot of happy faces” at the Senior Center as teachers, other school staff members and child care workers arrived to receive initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

“I’ve talked to the governor on a number of occasions about getting our teachers vaccinated,” the mayor said. “And today is a big day for us in here in Cranston.”

McKee announced the opening of vaccinations for educators last week during an event in Pawtucket, outlining plans to get shots into arms through the existing municipal clinics that have a played a key role in vaccinating seniors over the last month. The vaccination program through CVS and Walgreens is open to educators and child care workers as well.

Cranston’s clinic for teachers is running on Fridays. Stephen Craddock, the city’s director of senior services, said roughly 400 educators were due to be vaccinated on the first day of the program. In all, approximately 1,200 educators are slated to receive their shots at the Senior Center site.

The opening of vaccinations for educators come shortly after Cranston Public Schools reopened full-time, in-person instruction for grades two through eight. High schools currently remain under a hybrid system, with the week split between in-person and virtual instruction.

Meanwhile, last week marked the end of the first phase of shots for the city’s oldest residents. That program was initially open to those 75 and older, but eligibility was expanded in the subsequent weeks.

Starting this week, those who received initial doses of the Moderna vaccine on Tuesdays and Thursdays over the past month will return for their second shot. That clinic is set to run through April 8.

Craddock said during the initial four-week program for older residents, roughly 2,000 people received their first dose. He credited the site’s volunteers – more than 50 people in all, including some who have given their time during all of the clinic’s dates – for their efforts.

“We’ve got so many people, it’s been amazing,” he said. “We have some people here that have come every single day. They know their jobs, they don’t even ask where to go.”

Eileen Brothers and Jill Jolicoeur were among the volunteers working at last week’s clinic for educators. They staffed the welcome table at the entrance to the Senior Center, conducting temperature checks and checking visitors in.

Brothers said she has worked at prior vaccination clinics for the city’s senior citizens. While those arriving for shots on Friday were from a different segment of the community, she said, their sense of excitement was the same.

“Everyone that came through was so thankful,” she said, adding: “That they can feel safe going into the schools and being with the kids and carrying on with their jobs … we’re just grateful that we’re seeing light at the end of that tunnel.”

For Jolicoeur, who works in the office at Cranston High School West, Friday was her first time volunteering. She called the operation “very organized.”

“Everybody’s very excited to be here, as they should be,” she said.

Jolicoeur said she had received her shot earlier in the week, and while there was cause for celebration, her personal experience during the pandemic made the occasion somber, too.

“It means everything, really,” she said. “To have gone through having a family member pass of COVID, this is huge for me.”

A number of state and local officials were on hand for last week’s visit from McKee, which was part of a tour of multiple sites across the state.

State Rep. Charlene Lima and state Sen. Frank Lombardi were among those waiting to greet the governor when he arrived. Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse, City Council Vice President Ed Brady and Citywide Councilwoman Nicole Renzulli were in attendance, along with a number of school administrators. Acting Fire Chief James Warren and Dr. Herbert Brennan, who previously volunteered at the Cranston field hospital, were among the first responders and medical staff present.

Two other key figures from the state’s COVID-19 response also accompanied the governor during the stop.

“Everybody in education has been waiting for this … We have asked a lot of our teachers in the last year, so it only makes sense that we’re prioritizing our educators,” Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said after the tour of the Senior Center.

Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott added: “Where we are now is on our way to having a great summer in Rhode Island.”

teachers, vaccine

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