AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine hospitals predict another increase in demand for COVID-19 vaccines after state officials announced that residents 60 and older would be next in line for injections, an extension for a larger population than previously anticipated. .
Friday’s announcement that Maine would switch to an age-based vaccination system occurs when three out of five Mainers aged 70 or older have received at least one dose of vaccine, while the state’s vaccine allocation is expected to increase and the vaccine Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot will likely be approved by the federal government this weekend.
Consultations have been easier for many older people in Maine in recent weeks as the offer has increased. But the approximately 75,000 people aged 70 and over who have not yet been vaccinated – along with some 180,000 newly eligible inhabitants of the country – are likely to lead to an increase in demand that exceeds even an increase in the supply of vaccines.
The rush of nominee candidates may be similar to when Maine first expanded eligibility, said Dr. James Jarvis, who leads Northern Light Health’s COVID-19 response. But he said the Bangor-based hospital system has been preparing for possible expansion since last week, when public officials said that approaching the 70 percent mark of people over 70 receiving their first dose would likely cause a change in eligibility.
There are signs that certain areas of the state may have reached saturation for Mainers over 70 who want to be vaccinated, Jarvis said. He cited Aroostook County – where getting the vaccine is easier than most of the state because of the low geographic density of the population around the sites – as an example.
“We contacted the Maine CDC to say that we were certainly ready in certain parts of the state [to expand], that we have already eclipsed where our supply was actually greater than our demand, ”he said.
Preparations have focused mainly on ensuring that the system’s website is prepared to accommodate new age groups and is able to handle a flurry of queries, Jarvis said. He did not anticipate the need for more employees at this time and said the system would not create a waiting list for future eligible candidates, saying it could give people a false sense of security and cause frustration if they were not contacted immediately.
The Northern Light website – which crashed briefly amid heavy traffic when Maine opened vaccines for residents aged 70 and over – began allowing people in their 60s to make an appointment on Friday afternoon, minutes after Mills announce the change in prioritization.
Depending on where they live, Maine residents in their 60s may not be able to book appointments immediately, as several providers have indicated that they would continue to give vaccines for those 70 or older first. Hospitals can prioritize based on pre-existing health conditions or other factors, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew said on Friday.
MaineHealth, the largest hospital system in the state, will prioritize people 70 and older who have pre-registered on their system, according to spokesman John Porter. But the hospital system still hopes to start scheduling appointments for Mainers in their 60s next week. MaineHealth is prepared to administer up to 25,000 vaccines a week, said Porter, although he has only received 8,500 in the past few weeks as supply remains limited.
Maine is expected to receive more than 30,000 doses next week, up 8% from this week, as well as nearly 9,000 vaccines through the federal retail pharmacy program. Walmart, which is offering vaccines in Maine under this program, was not yet allowing Mainers under the age of 70 to make appointments on Friday night.
The allocation of vaccines from the state may increase even further with the approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was endorsed by federal advisers on Friday afternoon. If approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Johnson & Johnson suggested that it could distribute 20 million vaccines before the end of March, which could translate to more than 80,000 vaccines here.
For now, the new prioritization categories have been a “relief” for Stephen Patriquen, from Portland, who turns 65 in April. Patriquen knew that he would eventually be vaccinated, but having a deadline brought him the peace of mind he had been waiting for since the start of the pandemic.
Like many, Patriquen said he has limited contact with people outside his home, including his sister, a nurse at Maine Medical Center. She was vaccinated, but he still fears to interact with her because of his work with the public.
But that relief was almost eased by Patriquen’s uncertainty about the next steps to get vaccinated, something he said he hadn’t started researching. Being eligible, he said, is not the same as knowing definitively when you will be vaccinated.
“[The vaccine] it’s been a kind of carrot on a stick for a while, ”he said.