Events:

Breaking News

Rapidly breaking news, usually short takes.

News

Alexander-Scott not running for Congress: Former RI health director bows out of politics for now

Dr Nicole Alexander-Scott, who resigned from her post as director of the RI Department of Health a few weeks ago (“RI Health Director Alexander-Scott resigns: Led state’s COVID-19 response from the beginning”, by Michael Bilow, Jan 13, 2022), sent Motif a statement ending speculation that she would be a candidate for the open seat being […]

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RI Gov. McKee updates blizzard situation: 9:30am press conference

(Click here to watch the full press conference.) After declaring a state of emergency and imposing a travel ban because of the blizzard affecting RI today, Gov. Daniel McKee gave a progress report at a press conference held at the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) in Cranston this morning at 9:30am. He was accompanied by Lt. […]

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McDonald named interim RIDOH director: Part of new transition team

Dr James McDonald, medical director of the RI Department of Health (RIDOH) since Feb 2012, has been named interim director following the resignation of Director Dr Nicole Alexander-Scott on Jan 13 and of Deputy Director Tom McCarthy on Jan 18, both resignations effective Feb 1, according to a statement issued this morning by the office […]

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Free rapid COVID-19 tests available: US government web page, pharmacies

Every residential address in the US can order four rapid antigen test (RAT) kits for free, expected to be delivered in late January, through an official government web page: covidtests.gov (which currently redirects to a site operated by the US Postal Service special.usps.com/testkits). Persons need enter only their name and shipping address to place a […]

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RI Health Director Alexander-Scott resigns: Led state’s COVID-19 response from the beginning

Dr Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH, who has served as director of the RI Department of Health (RIDOH) since 2015 and spearheaded the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic from the beginning, has resigned effective two weeks from today, according to a statement from Gov. Daniel McKee, and the governor “regretfully accepted.” She will continue in […]

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FDA shortens wait for COVID-19 vaccine booster to 5 months, expands eligibility down to age 12

Major changes were authorized this morning to increase access to booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There are three main changes: (1) the time between completion of the primary vaccine series until eligible for a booster shot has been reduced to five months from the […]

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RI app shows verifiable vaccination status: Generates trusted secure QR code

(App download links at end of article.) RI has updated and renamed its “401Health” app (previously “Crush COVID RI”) for Google Android and Apple iOS, the office of Gov. Daniel McKee announced today. The main purpose of the update is to add support for displaying the user’s vaccination record via a securely trusted QR code, […]

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Monoclonal Antibodies (MABS) Delays: Effective COVID-19 treatment faces logistical obstacles

Treatment with monoclonal antibodies (MABS) is recommended and authorized to keep patients who test positive for COVID-19 out of the hospital, reducing the severity of mild to moderate symptoms. The treatment is done on an outpatient basis by a one-time infusion that takes several hours. In RI, however, there is a logistical backlog on quickly […]

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Omicron in RI: First patient identified

Omicron has been detected in RI, according to an announcement this afternoon from the office of Governor Daniel McKee. “The individual who tested positive is a person in their 20s who lives in Providence County and recently returned from travel in New York. The individual completed a primary vaccination series and had no record of […]

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Omicron virus “variant of concern”: More transmissible, unknown if otherwise more dangerous

A new “variant of concern” (VOC) for the virus that causes COVID-19 has today been assigned Greek letter “Omicron” by the World Health Organization (WHO) at an emergency meeting of the organization’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE). In the particular case of the new Omicron variant, designated B.1.1.529 in the PANGOLIN nomenclature, […]

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