AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine hospitals anticipate new increase in demand for COVID-19 vaccines after government officials announced that residents 60 years and older will receive the next shot, an expansion on a larger population than before is expected.
Friday’s announcement that Maine will switch to an age-based vaccination system is because three out of five principals aged 70 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, while the state of the vaccine allocation is expected to increase and the one-dose Johnson & Johnson- vaccine is likely to be approved by the federal government this weekend.
Appointments have been more readily available to many seniors in Maine over the past few weeks as supply has increased. But the approximately 75,000 people aged 70 and older who have not yet been vaccinated – along with about 180,000 newly eligible Mainers – are likely to lead to an increase in demand that exceeds an even greater supply of vaccines.
James Jarvis, the leader of Northern Light Health’s COVID-19 response, says the rush of searchers may look similar to when Maine first came into consideration. He said the hospital system in Bangor had been preparing for a possible expansion since last week, when public officials said the 70 per cent of those over 70 receiving their first dose were likely to cause a change in fitness.
There are signs that certain parts of the state have reached saturation for Mainers older than 70 who are willing to be vaccinated, Jarvis said. He cited Aroostook County – where vaccination is easier than most of the state due to the geographic density of the low population around the sites – as an example.
‘We reached out to the Maine CDC to say that we are definitely ready in certain parts of the state. [to expand], that we have already darkened where our supply was actually greater than our demand, ”he said.
Preparations were mostly focused on making sure the system’s website was prepared to accommodate new age groups and handle a rush of appointments, Jarvis said. He did not expect more staff at this stage and said the system would not create a waiting list for future eligible Mainers, saying it could give people a false sense of security and frustration. can cause if they do not make immediate contact.
Northern Light’s website – which crashed shortly amid heavy traffic when Maine first opened vaccinations for residents 70 and older – began allowing people in their 60s Friday afternoon to make appointments, minutes after Mills made the change announced in prioritization.
Depending on where they live, Mainers in their 60s may not be able to book appointments right away, as several providers have indicated they will have to vaccinate the 70-year-olds first. Hospitals can prioritize based on existing health conditions or other factors, Jeanne Lambrew, commissioner of the department of health and human services, said Friday.
MaineHealth, the state’s largest hospital system, will prioritize people 70 years and older who are pre-registered in the system, said spokesman John Porter. However, the hospital system still expects to start planning appointments for Mainers in their sixties next week. MaineHealth is willing to administer up to 25,000 vaccines a week, Porter said, though it has only received 8,500 in the past few weeks as supply is limited.
Maine will receive more than 30,000 doses next week, up 8 percent from this week, as well as nearly 9,000 vaccines through the federal retail pharmacy program. Walmart, which offers vaccinations in Maine under the program, has not yet allowed Mainers under 70 to book appointments Friday night.
The state’s allocation of vaccines could increase further with the approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was endorsed by federal advisers on Friday afternoon. If approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Johnson & Johnson suggested it could distribute 20 million vaccines by the end of March, translating more than 80,000 vaccines here.
The new priority categories were for now a ‘relief’ for Portland’s Stephen Patriquen, who turns 65 in April. Patriquen knew he would eventually be vaccinated, but a time frame brought him peace of mind he had been waiting for since the pandemic began.
Like many, Patriquen said he limited contact with those outside his immediate household, including his sister, a nurse at Maine Medical Center. She has been vaccinated, but he is still wary of communicating with her because of her work with the public.
But the relief was almost tempered by uncertainty for Patriquen over the next steps to be vaccinated, something he said had not yet been investigated. To be eligible, he said, was not the same as knowing definitively when he would be vaccinated.
‘[The vaccine] ‘has been a kind of stick to a stick for a while now,’ he said.