Mount Desert Island Hospital has seen an increase in COVID-19 positivity on MDI and surrounding communities this week. We suspect travel, different social visiting patterns over the school break and possibly a relaxation of individual vigilance may have contributed to the uptick in Hancock County case counts. Nationally, we are seeing cases level off on average. As our State makes adjustments to vaccine distribution strategy to ensure that available doses are reaching our most vulnerable populations, maintaining proven physical measures of distance and masking are key to the safety of our community until adequate herd immunity can be reached.
Dr. Nirav Shah announced Thursday that Maine would not be receiving any new doses of the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine next week. This news comes as the State has expanded eligibility to approximately 250,000 residents. Last week, Governor Janet Mills announced that Maine has adopted an age-based vaccine strategy, expanding eligibility to an estimated 200,000 Mainers aged 60 and above. Further eligibility opened this week as Mills announced Maine would follow Federal guidelines to expand eligibility to pre-K-12 school staff and licensed child care providers, regardless of age. This expanded eligibility to an estimated 50,000 educators.
Under the new Federal policy, participants in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program – which includes certain Hannaford, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies in Maine – are now directed to give access to available appointments exclusively to school staff and licensed child care workers. Existing appointments for those aged 60+ at these pharmacies will remain active. School staff and child care workers should first check the websites of retail pharmacy partners for vaccine availability. A listing of Maine’s vaccination sites and retail pharmacies can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/covid19/vaccines/vaccination-sites.
MDI Hospital had planned to launch a new vaccine appointment line this week, but the combination of increased eligibility and decreased supply has postponed that plan. Community vaccine preregistration remains open on our website at https://www.mdihospital.org/covid-19-vaccine.
As we wait for vaccine supply and eligibility to increase enough to cover everyone in our community, we strongly encourage everyone to remain vigilant, monitor for symptoms, wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, maintain physical distancing and avoid crowded situations with poor ventilation. Thank you for all you are doing to protect the health and well-being of our invaluable community.