After Two Months of Hearings, House Vaccine Task Force Has Refused to Allow Public Testimony
Saturday, February 13, 2021
In November, Speaker of the House Joseph Shekarchi announced with great fanfare that appointment of a House task force for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, designed to provide legislative oversight.
Now, nearly three months after the announcement, Rhode Island's vaccination program is ranked as one of the least effective in the country and the task force has refused to take any comment from organizations or members of the public.
Rhode Island has one of the worst vaccination programs according to the New York Times, Bloomberg and other media sources.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAccording to GoLocal’s daily analysis of CDC data, Rhode Island has approximately 80,000 doses of vaccine unused — approximately 40% of the more than 211,000 the state has received.
The Rhode Island program has been widely criticized by state leaders and organizations including the AARP. Board members of both Lifespan and Care New England received vaccinations — despite none of the donors being eligible to receive vaccinations.
“The stakes are very high here, and we need to do our absolute best with getting this vaccine to our population as quickly as possible. This is a time to come together, to work swiftly and carefully, and ensure that we vaccinate in a way that protects the most people and the most at-risk people as soon as we can. Distribution of the vaccine will doubtlessly be complicated by the fact that it is coming out the midst of a surge that is already pushing the limits of our health care system and those incredibly dedicated professionals who work in it, as well as our communities,” said Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick) in November announcing the creation of the task force.
“Rhode Islanders 50 and older account for nearly 98% of the state’s more than 2,000 COVID total deaths,” said AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell in late January in a statement. “The Governor and State Leaders must revise the vaccination plan so that it focuses on the most vulnerable among us.”
The state finally prioritized 75-year-olds and older but have yet to announce the vaccination program for 65+.
Experts -- But No Public
The first meeting was held on December 2 and featured public health experts like former Rhode Island Health Director Dr. Michael Fine and Brown’s Dr. Ashish Jha. Since then there have been three more meetings, and a fifth meeting is scheduled for this coming Wednesday, February 17.
To date, however, the task force has refused to allow any public participation or comment.
“Speaker Shekarchi is very concerned about our state’s ranking and he believes we must do better. He established the task force in November to stay on top of this critical public health issue and is confident his colleagues will be seeking appropriate answers on Wednesday," said Shekarchi's office in a statement
Dr. Fine said he is concerned about the lack of public participation.
"What's really interesting about that meeting, I saw the agenda, and there's no public comment. That's a little unusual by itself....but I think [legislators] ought to be listening out for public comment, as what they hear might surprise them in terms of its vehemence and widespread frustration," said Fine on GoLocal LIVE on Friday.
After multiple emails between GoLocal and Shekarchi's office, the Speaker agreed to allow public testimony at future hearings.
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