Maine CDC reports 296 new COVID-19 cases, 1 additional death

State health officials reported 296 new cases of COVID-19 and one death on Monday, the same day that Maine launched a new mobile vaccination program in partnership with the federal government.

The seven-day average of new cases of COVID-19 continues to creep higher and stands at 328 on Monday compared to a moving average of 280 cases for the seven-day period ending on 5 April. Monday’s figure is more than double the lowest seven-day average reported on this year from 139 end-February.

Vaccinations against COVID-19 continue, with more than 125,000 shots being fired in the state last week. Yet hospitalizations and possible visits to emergencies due to COVID-19 are also up in Maine, consistent with the increasing number of cases.

And the rate of vaccinations will slow down this week due to reduced vaccines.

As of Monday morning, 98 people across the country had been hospitalized with COVID-19 – the most since mid-February – with 35 of those cared for in intensive care units compared to the 82 hospitalizations and 32 ICU patients reported last Monday.

In addition, the percentage of hospital visits that may have been linked to COVID-19 is gradually picking up again. For the seven-day period ending on Sunday, 2.7 percent of individuals visiting emergency rooms were symptomatic of COVID-19, compared with 1.7 percent for the period ending March 28.

To date, the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 54,256 total confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 as well as at least 751 deaths associated with the viral disease. Although the numbers in Maine and many other states continue to increase, the mortality rate associated with the coronavirus in Maine has slowed down thanks to the successful vaccination of most people 60 years and older.

The new death announced Monday has been identified as a man in his 70s from Kennebec County.

Sarah Robey, a doctor-assistant certified at Wiscasset Family Medicine, is preparing to give herself a chance on Thursday during a small-scale vaccination clinic at Wiscasset Family Medicine. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Staff Photographer

The average age of new COVID-19 cases in Maine is getting younger and worse due to the vaccination rates of older residents, but also more prevalence among the under-30s. Ninety-three of the 296 cases reported Monday – or 31 percent of new infections – were among individuals younger than 20, while another 45 cases, or 15 percent, were between 20 and 29 years old, according to the Maine CDC. data.

On Sunday, health care providers administered 894,295 doses of vaccine to the state, including 514,076 first doses to approximately 38 percent of Maine’s population of approximately 1.3 million people. Just over 28 percent of the population also received their final doses of vaccine, according to the Maine CDC.

Dr Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, said on Twitter that the state has an average of 17,882 doses per day. Although the figure is likely to drop this week due to a decline in Johnson & Johnson vaccine vaccination, Shah noted that more than one-third of all eligible Mainers 16 years or older have completed their vaccination shots and that 70 509 of the shots delivered last week were final doses.

“These are 70,000 people who will be fully vaccinated within two weeks,” Shah said in a tweet.

The vaccination campaign is entering a new phase on Monday, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in partnership with the Maine CDC, is opening a mobile vaccination unit targeting rural or medically underserved populations.

The FEMA mobile unit will be on display in the Oxford Casino car park in western Maine for much of the week and will administer up to 250 doses of the single-graft vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson daily. All Maine residents who are 16 years of age or older are eligible, although appointments with the mobile vaccination unit are required.

Government Janet Mills toured the unit and held a press conference at the Oxford Casino site on Monday morning with FEMA’s regional administrators Paul Ford and others.

The unit will hold similar events in ten other towns and cities in Maine over the next two months: Windham from April 18 to 22; Biddeford from 24 to 28 April; Fryeburg from 30 April – 3 May; Turner May 5-7; Waterville May 9-12; Old town from 14 to 17 May; Milbridge May 19-22; Calais from 24 to 27 May; Madawaska from May 29 to June 2; and Auburn from June 9-12.

To check the availability of the appointment at the Oxford site, locals can call the community’s vaccination line at 1-888-445-4111. A list of other vaccination providers and websites across the country, as well as information on scheduling appointments, can be found at www.maine.gov/covid19/vaccines/vaccination-sites.

Freight rates of vaccine doses from the federal government to the Maine CDC are expected to decline this week, mainly due to a smaller national supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Maine CDC is expected to receive 36,690 doses of vaccine this week, up from 54,790 doses last week. The grant from Pfizer and Moderna is expected to remain steady, but Maine CDC is expected to receive approximately 18,000 doses less of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Similarly, pharmacies in Maine participating in the federal retail pharmacy program would receive nearly 20,000 fewer initial doses of vaccine this week due to the wild, weekly fluctuations in the availability of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The federal government planned to allocate 14,420 first doses – less than 34,190 – last week to pharmacies operating in Walmart / Sam’s Club, Walgreens, Hannaford, Shaw’s, CVS, Good Neighbor and MedShoppe in Maine.

This story will be updated.

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