Delivery of COVID-19 is too low to support expansion, says state

Maine is likely to receive about 17,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine again next week, but the rate of deliveries has not been fast enough to significantly expand vaccination efforts, the state’s top public health official said Wednesday.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention receives only six days’ notice from the federal government about the likely extent of next week’s dispatch, Drs. Nirav Shah, director of the CDC, said. “The state is not being informed about how much vaccine can be expected in the following weeks or months, which makes planning for the next vaccination phase very, very difficult,” Shah said.

Maine reported 525 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. There were three more deaths.

Shah said Maine would need to receive about 50,000 doses a week, instead of the 15,000 to 20,000 it receives, so as not to limit the vaccination program.

Federal Operation Warp Speed ​​officials told the state they could receive an additional 100 doses of the Moderna vaccine next week in addition to the 17,075 other doses, Shah said. The state has so far received vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer.

To date, 38,065 Mainers have received at least the first dose of the vaccine. But Maine residents, especially the elderly, are wondering when it’s their turn during the next vaccination phase, which is expected to begin in February.

“As much as I want to be able to give everyone their place in the queue now, I can not do that,” Shah said. “At the moment, all the statements I make are not worth the paper on which they are written.”

Maine is currently vaccinating for Phase 1A, which includes health workers, staff and residents of nursing homes and paramedics – a total of about 130,000 people. The next phase, 200,000 in Phase 1B, will include elderly people aged 75 and over and essential workers, which include teachers, police officers, grocery stores and postal workers.

Shah said the state may come up with a priority list in phase 1B to give the vaccine first to those who are most vulnerable to contracting or transmitting the virus.

While other states have offered more details on how the second vaccination phase will proceed, Maine officials have not yet done so, is that they need assurance that the vaccines will grow, Shah said.

“What a plan should have is more than just theory. It has to be based on reality, ”Shah said. “These (other states’) plans are just words on a page without any promise.”

Nevertheless, Shah says, civil servants are in talks about phase 1B and are expected to announce the plan in the coming weeks.

Overall, Maine has recorded 27,090 cases of COVID-19 and 372 deaths since the pandemic began in March. The seven-day average of daily new cases stood at 513.9 on Wednesday, compared to 429.7 a week ago and 262.9 a month ago.

Currently, 191 people have been admitted to the hospital in Maine with COVID-19, with 54 in intensive care.

The Central Maine Healthcare and Northern Light Health systems also began administering second-dose vaccine to leading-edge medical workers on Wednesday, receiving the first doses three weeks ago. MaineHealth began giving booster doses on Monday.

About 50 percent of Northern Light staff members – 6,500 nurses, doctors and others – have received at least a first dose of vaccine since Wednesday, says Dr. James Jarvis, senior CEO of Northern Light. An additional 500 subcontractors and others working in the system also received a first dose.

Jarvis said most Northern Light employees were “delighted” to be vaccinated, especially amid rising cases and deaths from COVID-19. He said 10 to 15 percent of staff said they could not be vaccinated at the moment, but very few refused to be vaccinated at all.

Jarvis also notes an increase in patients canceling regular medical care appointments because they fear they will be exposed to the virus when they enter Northern Light facilities.

“It’s safe to get into our facilities,” Jarvis said. “Delaying your care can be detrimental to your health.”

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