Federal vaccine deliveries are expected to increase. Is Maine ready for them?
The state is still exploring options to expand capacity, but the 2 biggest health care organizations say they are prepared to accelerate vaccinations.
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Mills administration officials say their focus is on adding high-volume vaccination sites and launching additional initiatives in rural communities to reach Mainers who cannot travel to clinics.
Among Mainers 70 and older, 69% have now had one shot of vaccine and 24% have gotten both.
Maine’s 7-day average of new cases was 170 on Wednesday, up from 142 two weeks ago but far less than the average of nearly 300 at this time last month.
DHHS investigating alleged violations at Moore Center
ELLSWORTH The Department of Health and Human Services is investigating alleged violations at the Down East Family YMCA’s Moore Early Learning Center. The complaint was filed last month by a former teacher and her husband.
Allissia West of Dedham worked as a child-care teacher in the infant room while her 2½-year-old son Ezra attended the toddler program from June 1, 2020, to Jan. 29, 2021. On Jan. 29, she resigned and pulled Ezra out of the program. In mid-February, West reported alleged COVID-19 protocol violations through the state’s online reporting portal. Her husband, Shane West, filed a DHHS complaint, alleging 16 additional violations unrelated to COVID-19 protocol on Feb. 23.
Health facilities have expressed concern that they won’t be able to maintain quality medical care for the state’s lowest-income residents without an increase in the amount of money they receive from the state.
The problem has magnified over the last year. More people enrolled in MaineCare amid the pandemic, raising questions about the sustainability of the program tasked with ensuring the most vulnerable people have access to healthcare, including those with low incomes and those who are medically needy.
“The biggest issue we have right now is getting coverage for individuals and having a sustainable model of reimbursement (from MaineCare) for those services,” said Chrissi Maguire, the president and CEO of Mount Desert Island Hospital. “It’s really abysmal.”
1,000 COVID shots a week? Primary care doctors feel excluded by ‘unrealistic’ requirement
The Maine CDC recently started taking applications for collaborative vaccination clinics staged by small practices, but doctors say few offices will be able to meet the volume demands set by the state.
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Dr. Patricia Phillips of Yarmouth says the state’s 1,000-dose-per-week requirement for setting up a vaccination clinic isn’t feasible for small practices.
Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Family physicians and primary care doctors say state health officials are needlessly excluding many smaller practices from Maine’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign by requiring them to administer an unrealistic number of doses weekly.
Maine eligibility guidelines for COVID-19 vaccine confuse, frustrate
Contradictions and exceptions within an evolving set of rollout rules trouble vaccine providers and those still waiting for their shots, but some in the field say they appreciate a degree of flexibility.
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Gov. Janet Mills, during a Jan. 13 press briefing, said a person who is 69 and 10 months old who accompanies a 71-year-old coming in to be vaccinated probably could also get a shot for the sake of efficiency. The statement was seen by some as an example of the state’s lack of clear guidance because clinics had been turning away people who had not yet turned 70.