The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported an additional 24 deaths of individuals with COVID-19 on Thursday, a major leap that state officials attributed to a review of death records last month.
But the Maine CDC also reported 217 new cases of COVID-19 in the state, marking the third time in two weeks that the number of new infections has exceeded 200 in one day.
In the past two days, the Maine CDC has reported a total of 41 deaths related to COVID-19. However, only two of those deaths have occurred in the past few days. The rest occurred over the past month, but were identified as having a link to COVID-19 by the Maine CDC team during periodic reviews of death certificates that were filed with the state’s Data, Research and Vital Statistics Division.
Still, the additional 41 deaths highlight the toll that COVID-19 continues to cause Maine residents – particularly those aged 70 and over – even with the downward trend in new infections and hospitalizations and increased vaccine supplies. .
Dr. Nirav Shah, director of Maine CDC, is due to hold a meeting today at 2pm.
A sign thanking people for vaccinating is hanging in the vaccination clinic at St Christopher’s Church in York on Wednesday, February 24. Team photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette
Although the number of new infections varies considerably from one day to the next, ranging from 97 to 218 cases over the past week, the overall number of cases in Maine has declined after the peak of late autumn and early winter. The seven-day average stood at 150 on Thursday, slightly above the average of 148 daily cases for the week ending February 18, but more than four times less than the peak average of 625 reported on January 15.
To date, the Maine CDC has reported 44,117 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 since the coronavirus was first detected in Maine last March. The additional 24 deaths reported on Thursday raise the statewide total to 701.
The pace of vaccinations also continues to accelerate in Maine as more doses from the federal government arrive in the state and older residents gain additional options to receive vaccines.
On Thursday morning, healthcare providers administered 316,462 vaccines in Maine. That number includes 211,451 first doses, as well as 105,011 second doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, both of which require two injections to obtain complete inoculation.
Just under 16 percent of Maine’s population of about 1.3 million people received at least one dose of the vaccine by Thursday, while 7.8 percent received both vaccines. The current phase of the Maine vaccination campaign is focused on individuals aged 70 and over, although eligibility could expand to people in the 65 to 69 age group as early as next week.
Maine ranked 15th among states and the District of Columbia on Thursday in terms of the percentage of the population that received at least one shot, according to Bloomberg’s tracking.
However, there are substantial geographical disparities in vaccinations due to the way vaccine doses are allocated and the pace at which healthcare professionals are administering these vaccines. The biggest disparity is in York County, which is in the bottom third of counties in terms of vaccination rates, despite being the second most populous county in the state and having the highest rates of COVID-19 infection per capita.
Approximately 59% of Maine’s 193,000 residents aged 70 or older received at least one dose on Thursday morning, while 16% received both doses. Maine is the oldest state in the country and more than 85 percent of COVID-19 deaths reported in Maine to date have occurred among individuals over the age of 70, although they represent only 12 percent of cases.
Across the state on Thursday, 67 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Thursday, compared with 74 the day before. There were 22 people being treated in intensive care units, against 25 reported on Wednesday, and eight individuals were connected to ventilators.
This story will be updated.
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