Maine receives more COVID-19 vaccine shipments, ramps up vaccinations
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), following its purchase of nearly 12,000 doses of the newly-approved Johnson & Johnson single shot vaccine, has announced the opening of two new mass vaccination clinics in southern Maine.
The announcement directly precedes Maine’s move to an age-based vaccine distribution approach. According to the State of Maine’s COVID-19 Response webpage, all Maine residents over the age of 60 will be able to get vaccinated effective March 3. In April, the vaccine will be available to residents age 50 and older; in May, to residents age 40 and older; in June, to those age 30 and older, and finally, in July, to all Maine residents. Until now, Maine had prioritized essential workers and residents over age 70.
As of March 2, Maine has administered 355,810 doses of the vaccine: 231,353 of the first dose and 124,457 of the second. With the two new clinics, one located at the Portland Expo and the other at the former Marshalls department store in Sanford, the state hopes to increase from 500 vaccinations a day to 1,000.
“We are undertaking the largest mass vaccination effort in history, and I am grateful to Maine people for their understanding and patience as we make adjustments to reflect the latest science and get shots into arms as quickly as we can,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a Feb. 27 press release.
The clinics, run by Northern Light Mercy Hospital, will help distribute the over 55,000 doses of the vaccine Maine is expected to receive this week. The state is also looking to open more mass vaccination clinics throughout Maine, including in the Lewiston-Auburn area as well as in Oxford County. The 55,000 doses will also include 15,000 new units of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“The FDA’s emergency authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine expands vaccination options for Maine people,” Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Nirav D. Shah said in a Feb. 27 press release.
“Because it’s fully effective with one shot and does not require ultracold storage, some of the challenges we faced when previous vaccines were approved will not be a factor as we distribute this vaccine to sites throughout Maine,” Shah explained.
Until recently, Maine had relied on the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which both require two doses and need to be stored between -112 to -76 and -13 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored in a normal refrigerator and is much longer-lasting than the Moderna vaccine, which expires after a month. All of this, coupled with the fact that it only requires one dose, significantly eases many of the previous logistical issues with vaccine distribution.
Regardless of the increase in vaccine supplies, however, elderly residents, front-line workers, and people with underlying conditions have struggled to get vaccinated. Rachel Powers `22, who is currently taking the year off and living in Portland, told The Colby Echo about her struggle to receive the vaccine despite being immunocompromised.
“I have Hashimoto’s disease,” Powers said. “I was under the impression until recently that I would be eligible for the vaccine here in Maine due to my underlying condition, but then Janet Mills announced that they were retracting eligibility for folks who are immunocompromised or front line workers in favor of going by age. So I went from being at the top of the vaccine list to the bottom in a day.”
The move to an age-based distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is largely motivated by the statistic that over 95% of COVID-19 deaths in the United States are people ages 50 and over. Powers claims that while vaccinating people 50 and older is crucial, waiting to vaccinate residents younger than 30 until July will only further the inequity of COVID-19’s impact in Maine. Maine has one of the largest COVID-19 racial disparity gaps in the country, with the state’s 1.6% Black population making up 6% of all positive cases.
“I think the notion that a forty-five year old who makes six figures and works from home will be eligible before a twenty-something who is immunocompromised and works in your supermarket to feed you is completely insane,” Powers said.
Not all Colby students have been so unlucky in their journey to get vaccinated. Catriona McIntyre `21, a member of Colby Emergency Response (CER), received two doses of the Moderna vaccine through Waterville’s Delta Ambulance earlier this year. She claimed it was a relatively easy process, with only some minor side effects.
“After receiving the first vaccine, I had some soreness in my arm,” McIntyre explained. “It didn’t last that long and was completely bearable. Two weeks later, I received the second dose. Six to ten hours later, I did spike a fever of about 100 and had full body chills and some nausea … but these side effects only lasted around 24 hours and after that I was feeling back to normal.”
Currently, 17 percent of Maine’s population has received their first dose of the vaccine, with 9 percent fully vaccinated. The Maine CDC hopes to hit a full 10 percent fully vaccinated soon.
The increase in vaccinations will hopefully continue Maine’s downward trend of COVID-19 cases. After a peak of more than 600 cases a day in January, the state’s average is down to 167 cases per day. Since the start of the pandemic, Maine has had almost 45,000 positive cases and a little over 700 deaths.
Colby’s campus had a similar spike in January, with over 57 cases documented during JanPlan. Luckily, the College seems to have similarly gotten the virus’ spread under control, with only four active cases at the moment. Considering Colby’s commitment to a completely in-person Fall 2021 semester, along with the nationwide pressure for schools to reopen, the influx of vaccines is certainly a sign of better times to come.
~ Sarah Warner `21
