PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Two independent pharmacies in Rhode Island started offering coronavirus vaccines on Tuesday.
Matt’s Local Pharmacy in Middletown and Suburban Pharmacy in Warwick are the first two independently-owned pharmacies in the state to offer vaccinations, joining dozens of CVS and Walgreens locations.
Matt’s Local Pharmacy has received around 300 doses from the state and will vaccinate people from Tuesday through the weekend. They expect to get more doses in April.
“We are excited. It’s a little nervewracking to some extent, but I think overall we’re prepared,” co-owner Matt Olivier told WLNE-TV.
Matt and Erica Olivier opened the pharmacy three years ago and said their customers have been eagerly awaiting a shot from them.
“People have been asking for a while like ‘When are you going to get it there,’ anticipating it, they knew we were going to get it eventually,” Erica Olivier said. “People were very anxious and I think they’re really excited that we finally have it and we’re just relieved to be part of the, hopefully, beginning of the end.”
Appointments for both locations are made through the state vaccine portal.
The state on Tuesday opened up 5,500 more vaccine appointments at the portal, Gov. Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Health announced.
McKee also said that residents age 16 and over in Central Falls and Pawtucket and several hard-hit ZIP codes in Providence, Cranston and North Providence are now able to register for appointments at state-run sites and participating pharmacies.
Nearly 332,000 people in Rhode Island have recieved at least one dose of a vaccine, while about 220,000 people, or roughly 20% of the state’s population, have been fully vaccinated, according to state Department of Health numbers released Monday.
