Governor Mills’ plan to switch vaccines to age-based eligibility gets mixed reactions

Maine’s updated plan to vaccinate residents against COVID-19 based entirely on age has attracted mixed reactions from industries that hoped their workers could soon move to the front.

Within the state’s hospitality industry, there is no doubt that most workers will have to wait until late spring or early summer under the state’s new age-based plan in which those in their 60s will be eligible next week. , followed by those 50 and over in April, 40 and over in May and 30 and over in June. Individuals under the age of 30 will be targeted starting in July.

“It’s still a demographic group of 25 to 40 versus 50 to 65, no doubt about it,” said Greg Dugal, director of government affairs for Hospitality Maine, the state’s largest association of restaurants, bars and hotels.

The state has already authorized vaccines for people over 70 and, starting next Wednesday, Mainers over 60 will become eligible for the first dose of the vaccine, which protects against severe symptoms of the virus that claimed half a million lives. including more than 700 in Maine.

The state’s decision not to prioritize frontline workers in favor of age groups was a blow to teachers, especially with increasing pressure to reopen schools. Governor Janet Mills said on Friday that while teachers are not prioritized as a category of workforce, the state will make efforts to bring vaccination clinics to districts to inoculate age-eligible teachers.

“We understand how difficult this is for everyone,” said GLeavitt race, president of the Maine Education Association, the state teachers’ union. “Having educators prioritized within these ranges, providing dedicated vaccination opportunities to expedite receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine will provide additional security for our educators, our students and our communities.”

To date, 31 states have opened vaccine eligibility for teachers, according to Education Week.

Dugal said hospitality workers are at the forefront of dealing with customers during the pandemic and their ability to stay on the job while keeping doors open, often in limited capacities, is critical to keeping Maine’s economy on track.

“So they are in danger, and when you look at a restaurant, how many places do you go where a worker is dealing with a person without a mask? The only other place I can think of where this happens regularly is a dental office, ”he said. “There is no doubt that (hospitality workers) should be moved to the front of the line.”

Briana Volk, owner of Portland’s Hunt and Alpine Club, accessed Twitter on Friday to express her disappointment, noting that the restaurant’s doors would remain closed. She also cared about friends and colleagues working in unsafe environments, some of whom contracted COVID-19.

“By allowing restaurants and bars to be opened for indoor meals and not vaccinating workers, Maine is telling all of us that the people who are the reason for one of the biggest industries in our state are not as important as that sweet, sweet money for tourists from outside the state, ”tweeted Volk.

And while some like Volk were deeply disappointed by Friday’s news, Dugal acknowledged that the new plan added clarity to Maine’s vaccine distribution policy and could streamline efforts in the future.

“The timetable they have proposed is quite aggressive,” he said. “If they manage to stick to that schedule, for all intents and purposes by the time the really busy time comes, maybe everyone will be vaccinated.”

Curtis Picard, president and CEO of the Retail Association of Maine, agreed with Dugal that the plan presented on Friday adds clarity and eases confusion about who will be eligible for the vaccine and when.

“I am happy that the government is being clear about what the plan is progressing,” said Picard. “And deciding to follow an age-based system, I think, is understandable.”

Still, Picard said there were about 80,000 workers in Maine’s retail sector, working in large and small stores across the state, and like those in the hospitality industry, they remained on the front lines dealing with the public during the pandemic. .

He said that other questions about the vaccine, including advice and recommendations on how those who are vaccinated can behave and what requirements the state will have for visitors who were vaccinated for next summer are still unanswered.

Picard said that now that Mills has been vaccinated, he would like to see the governor “a little more open to the public” to help rebuild consumer confidence that those who have been vaccinated can fully participate in the economy again.

Christine Cummings, executive director of the Maine Grocers and Food Producers Association, said her industry was also pleased to have a clearer idea of ​​how vaccines would be distributed.

“Throughout the pandemic, it was a challenge, with policies constantly changing, to have a good understanding and ability to plan and move forward,” said Cummings. “Although it no longer prioritizes specific frontline levels, at least it gives these companies and people a clearer path to the future.”

Others who offered mixed reactions to the new vaccine plan included the state government’s largest labor union, Maine Service Employees Association, SEIU Local 1989.

“We appreciate that the governor’s age-based approach aims to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people in the shortest possible time,” said Jeff McCabe, a union spokesman on Friday. “The sooner everyone gets vaccinated, the sooner Maine’s economy can get back on track.”

But McCabe also noted that many frontline workers who have been working during the pandemic – including child protection social workers in the Department of Health and Human Services, state police criminal lab analysts and DOT plow drivers – would not be eligible. for vaccination quickly.

As an example, McCabe said child protection workers often visit prisons or hospitals as part of their job – workplaces where they may now be the only workers who have not been vaccinated.

“They are doing their job at considerable risk to themselves and their families,” said McCabe. “However, they still do not have access to vaccines that have been provided to first responders they work with regularly, sometimes daily.”

The state’s two largest health organizations, MaineHealth and Northern Light Health, supported the elderly-based plan.

“The incidence of serious illness and death increases with age, and prioritizing in this way is a direct and safe way to distribute the vaccine to those most at risk,” Dr. Joan Boomsma, medical director of MaineHealth, the largest health care system state, said in a prepared statement.

Dr. James Jarvis, lead physician at the Northern Light Health incident command, said the new plan removes complex barriers to the distribution of the vaccine.

“In the end, with a limited supply of vaccine, efficiency and ease of operation will serve our communities and other inhabitants of the region better than any other approach, allowing us to vaccinate all inhabitants of the region more quickly,” he said.

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