AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine may soon extend COVID-19 vaccinations to people aged 65 to 69, as federal allocations continue to increase and a new Johnson & Johnson vaccine may be approved for emergency use this weekend. .
Maine is expected to receive more than 38,600 first doses of vaccines next week, the maximum it has received in any week since vaccinations began in December. About 30,000 are allocated to suppliers through the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, while more than 8,000 go to Walmart and Walgreens stores through the federal retail pharmacy program.
The state expects the largest federal allocation of vaccines to continue, said Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Additional supply may be on the way if the one-shot vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson is authorized for emergency use. Federal advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will meet on Friday to discuss the vaccine, after an agency report released on Wednesday concluded that the vaccine is effective and safe.
Shah declined to say on Thursday how many of the new Maine vaccines he might receive at the start if the vaccine passes, saying that nothing has been finalized. But he hinted that he could help Maine extend eligibility, saying that approval “would help us move forward.”
“All of these things, volume, type and stability, expand the range of options we have in Maine where we will go on our vaccination journey,” said Shah. “I suspect that the Gov. [Janet] Mills will have much more to say on this subject in the very near future. “
Shah and Department of Health and Human Services commissioner Jeanne Lambrew declined to say when the Democratic governor’s announcement could be made. Lambrew said it probably wouldn’t happen on Thursday.
As of Thursday, more than 211,000 Maine residents have received the first doses of the vaccine, while more than 105,000 have received the second doses, according to state data. Maine extended eligibility for residents 70 years of age or older in mid-January, after initially offering vaccines to residents of long-term care facilities, healthcare professionals, emergency responders and some other workers deemed essential to the COVID-19 response. of State.
People aged 65 to 69 are next in line, according to the state’s vaccination plan, followed by adults with certain pre-existing illnesses and some frontline workers. The state has so far refused to say which pre-existing conditions, or what types of workers, will be eligible.