Below is information about Wood River Health's COVID-19 procedures, vaccines and testing.

COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for most Rhode Islanders 6 months of age and older to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.

Children 6 months to 2 years of age and adults 19 years of age and older (including pregnant women) should be vaccinated. For healthy children between 2 years and 18 years of age, parents should talk to a healthcare professional about whether COVID-19 vaccine should be administered.

Vaccination is particularly important for people 65 years of age and older and anyone who is at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Health conditions that put someone at higher risk for severe COVID-19 include obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma or chronic lung disease, and being immunocompromised. Additionally, pregnancy puts someone at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. The COVID-19 vaccine is safe during pregnancy. Vaccination can protect women and their infants after birth.

To learn more, visit the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine

Wood River Health provides COVID-19 vaccines to anyone who wishes to protect themselves or others from COVID-19.

You do not need to be a patient to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Please note that COVID test costs are per your insurance.  Vaccines and boosters for uninsured individuals is currently unavailable. If you are uninsured and would like to get tested or vaccinated, please contact our Community Resources Team to ask them about our Sliding Fee Scale Program.

How to Get Vaccinated

  • Call 401.539.2461 to schedule an appointment
  • If this is not your first dose, bring your COVID vaccination card, vaccination history or SMART Health Card Verifier App
  • If you are experiencing symptoms on the day of your appointment, call to cancel your appointment and contact your provider for guidance
  • If asymptomatic, arrive to your appointment on time 

Vaccines for Children and Teens

The CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines and boosters for individuals six months and older.

Wood River Health offers vaccines for our youth patient population. To learn more about the CDC’s guidelines and about vaccine safety for children and teens, visit the CDC's website.

Your flu vaccine can be given at the same time as your COVID-19 vaccine. Call us to schedule your appointment.

Getting Tested for COVID-19

Wood River Health provides COVID-19 tests to current patients by appointment. We do not offer testing to the general public or to walk-ins.

Wood River Health's COVID-19 testing process is outlined below. The SMART Health Card Verifier App is a helpful resource for Rhode Islanders to access their verified record.

  • If you are a symptomatic patient, call us to schedule an appointment.
  • Arrive to your appointment on time and with a mask.
  • There may be costs associated with getting tested.
  • Your results will be ready in 20 minutes. You may stay to collect your results or one of our staff will call you with them.
  • If a PCR test is sent out for results, lab results won't be available for 24-72 hours.

If your self-test result is positive, it means that the test detected the virus, and you have COVID-19. A duplicate test is not needed unless your provider is concerned.

Patients who have COVID-19 by home testing should call for a telemedicine visit rather than coming in. We can prescribe treatment by phone or video. 

Patients experiencing any sick symptoms, suspect having COVID-19 or know they have been exposed to COVID-19 must wear a mask. 

Please follow the protocols outlined below, some school systems have shorter requirements:

  • Stay home (isolate) for at least five days, even if you don’t have symptoms. Only leave isolation for medical emergencies.
  • Masking for 10 days since you started having symptoms is recommended.
  • After day 5, if you do not have symptoms and are not taking medicines for cold symptoms, leaving the house with a mask is ok. Masking is recommended for a total of 10 days from start of symptoms.

Tell your close contacts that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should get tested.

  • Close contacts who are not fully vaccinated must get tested immediately and, if the result is negative, get tested again 5 to 7 days after exposure or if symptoms develop during quarantine.
  • Fully vaccinated/boosted close contacts must get tested 5 to 7 days after exposure and wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days or until they get a negative test result.

Tell a healthcare provider about your positive test result and stay in contact with them.

  • There are effective treatments for COVID-19 infection. A healthcare provider can treat you for COVID-19 based on a self-test result. A healthcare provider may want to test you again to make sure your self-test result is accurate.
  • Call 911 or get yourself to the nearest hospital if you think you are having a medical emergency. This can include trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, the inability to wake or stay awake, or bluish lips or face.
  • If you took the test while you had symptoms and followed all instructions carefully, a negative result means your current illness is probably not COVID-19.  It could be influenza or a common cold.
  • It is possible for someone who has COVID-19 to get a negative result on a self-test. This is called a false negative. You could also test negative if the specimen was collected too early in your infection period and could test positive later during your illness.
  • If you think your self-test result may be incorrect, you should test yourself again within a few days, with at least 24 hours between tests.

When to Get Retested

  • You have symptoms and get a negative result on your self-test
  • You don’t have symptoms and get a positive result on your self-test