Mains over the age of 60 covered by the COVID-19 vaccine next week as the state shifts to an age-based deployment

Governor Janet Mills said on Friday that Maine would qualify for COVID-19 vaccination based on age and prioritize vaccination of individuals with high-risk medical conditions or those who worked in front-line jobs. Said to replace the system of.

Under the Mills administration’s new plan, all residents of Maine between the ages of 60 and 69 will be eligible for vaccination from Wednesday. The decision will provide access to the vaccine to an additional 200,000 mainners, even though the state continues to vaccinate 193,000 individuals aged 70 and over, who are currently estimated to be eligible.

Going forward, the vaccine will be available in Maine to people over the age of 50 in April, in their 40s in May, and in their 30s in June. According to the time frame outlined on Friday, individuals under the age of 30 including children will be targeted after July if the vaccine is licensed.

Dr. Nilav Shah, director of the Mills and Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the controversial decision to adopt an age-based system was one of the strongest indicators of serious illness or death from COVID. He said it was based on scientific research showing that there was. 19. Over 85% of COVID deaths in Maine were over 70 years old, and 98% were over 50 years old.

“Given that Maine has the oldest population, this approach, unlike other states, will be the fastest to benefit most people in Maine,” Mills said at a virtual press conference. .. “I’m trying to save my life here. I’m trying to shoot my arm as soon as possible. After consulting science and considering a number of considerations, I think this approach is the right one for our state. I believe that. “

More than 16% of Maine’s population (217,667) have been vaccinated at least once, and as of Friday morning 8.2% had both vaccinations that needed to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. I was receiving it.

Mills said its purpose was “to bring the greatest benefits to the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time.” The governor predicts that age-based systems will improve efficiency by eliminating logistic nightmares about identifying someone’s medical condition or eligibility for their work, while providing additional predictability during a pandemic. did.

However, this decision is made by many Mainers working in high-risk front-line “essential” jobs, such as teachers, grocery store employees, restaurant workers, and hundreds of thousands of residents with underlying illnesses. Is guaranteed to confuse. State officials have announced plans for a teacher-only vaccination clinic, but eligibility to receive shots is age-based.

Shah admitted that not everyone is happy with this change.

“We are in charge of public health decisions, not individual patient decisions,” he said. “At the individual level, we recognize that this approach may mean that some people may want more, but at the population level, we reduce the number of people in Maine who die of COVID. With our goal in mind, this is the strategy we believe will lead us to it the fastest and most equitably. “

Main is not alone

Maine participates in a small but increasing number of states or countries, using age as the only or primary criterion for vaccine eligibility.

This week, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said Connecticut has pushed all teachers, school staff and childcare workers to the forefront of the vaccination line, but will continue to use an age-based approach. Nebraska also moves away from giving high priority to people with high-risk medical conditions and instead focuses primarily on age.

And across the Atlantic, British officials announced on Friday that the next stage of vaccination in the country would be based on age rather than occupation. As in Maine, British officials said the age-based approach would be easier and faster.

In doing so, Maine and other states are saying goodbye to the official recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the federal government has given the state broad discretion in conducting vaccination campaigns, and even its federal guidance has evolved over the last few weeks in response to the latest science and the pace of vaccine production.

Jennifer Tourbat, director of state health reform at the Kaiser Family Foundation, hopes that other states will adopt age-based immunization strategies.

“Not all states are older than Maine, but I think it’s simple that this age-based prioritization is appealing,” Tourbat said Friday afternoon. .. “It’s a simple message to convey. You can work through groups.”

That said, Tallbert said there is a strong argument that people with high-risk medical conditions should also be prioritized. Road Island employs a system primarily based on age, but is also expanding its qualifications to young individuals with five specific health conditions: diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, and weakened immunity. ..

“We are still in a limited supply of vaccines and far more people need them than we can get them,” said Tourbat. “Therefore, there are trade-offs. The governor and other state officials have to make decisions about these trade-offs … and there is no good answer.”

Reservation gate opens

Within an hour of Mills’ announcement, some healthcare providers began booking for people aged 60-69 next week. Maine Health and Northern Light Health, the two largest healthcare networks in Maine, which have been vaccinated so far, welcomed this transition.

Mainner, who suddenly and unexpectedly realized that he was on the verge of vaccine eligibility, also praised this change.

Brenda Buchanan, a 63-year-old Portland lawyer, hoped that the next step would apply to people over the age of 65. While he was pleased to benefit her 65-year-old spouse, Buchanan was worried that she had a different vaccination schedule than her wife.

So when he learned that he was eligible on Friday and received an email from his healthcare provider about his appointment schedule, Buchanan gave it more freedom, even if they were back in the world together. Wear a mask that was considered a step towards a couple who are and continue to order takeaway.

“We’ve been doing this for almost a year,” Buchanan said. “We managed to stay safe. Be patient. But on the other hand, you really feel” OK, I’m part of the people who are heading back to some sort of normal life. ” I want to get started. Some families really want to see it, but for obvious reasons they don’t. “

George Parr of Portland, 69-year-old manager of seafood wholesaler Upstream Trucking, said he was happy to be in the next line of vaccination. Cancer survivor Parr said he was paying attention to precautions during a pandemic. “If someone gets sick upstream, we’re out of business. That means my entire factory will be closed.”

He said it makes sense to vaccinate by age, as older people are more likely to have serious consequences when infected with the virus. He knows people in their thirties infected with the virus that has become “very ill”, but the illness was not bad enough to kill them.

“But you’re old and you’re not fighting your (your) weight,” Par said.

178 new cases

The Mills administration announced a strategic shift on the day the Main CDC reported 178 new cases of COVID-19. No additional deaths were reported on Friday, but the main CDC reported 41 additional deaths on Wednesday and Thursday, identified during a regular review of important records and dated January 26. It was.

The number of newly reported infections changes daily, but the overall rate has been declining in recent weeks. The moving average for 7-day new cases on Friday was 155, a slight increase from the daily average of 140 cases in the week to February 18, but decreased from 207 in the week to February 11. It peaked at 625 on January 15th, amid a surge after the main 7-day moving average holiday.

The main CDC has tracked 44,295 confirmed or possible cases of COVID-19 since the coronavirus was first detected in the state in March last year. A total of 701 people died in Maine after being infected with COVID-19. Maine consistently has one of the lowest infection and mortality rates in the country.

The number of people in Maine who were hospitalized for COVID-19 on Friday was 68, 23 of whom were critical care and 9 were ventilators. This is less than one-third of the state’s peak of 207 hospitalizations on January 13.

Vaccine shipment to the main CDC Expected to increase by more than 8% next week That’s a total of 30,080. In addition, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and Walgreens pharmacies in Maine will receive 8,980 doses.

further, A panel of external advisors from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday recommended approval for a third vaccine.Developed by Johnson & Johnson, the FDA paved the way for issuing an emergency use authorization as early as Saturday. It will open the door to additional doses for Maine and other states next week.

Maine’s heaviest age group may take longer for the state to vaccinate through the oldest resident, coupled with the fact that federal vaccine shipments are based on the state’s entire population. It means high. Approximately 74,000 of the 193,000 residents of the state over the age of 70 had not yet been vaccinated for the first time as of Friday morning, according to the latest data from the Main CDC, but the number is daily. Thousands are decreasing.

Meanwhile, two more high-volume vaccination clinics will open next week in southern Maine. One is Portland Expo operated by Northern Light Health and the other is Sanford operated by Main Health. These complement the mass vaccination sites currently operating at the former Scaborow Downs Harness Race Track and Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center.

Staff writer Meredith Gordo contributed to this report.

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