COVID-19 takes a heavy toll in Maine, largely borne by the state’s eldest

They were teachers and musicians, retired firefighters and decorated war veterans, lobster boats, shipbuilders and farmers.

Some were recent immigrants to the United States while others were descended from the early rulers of Maine.

Too many people have left behind children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and communities suddenly mourning the loss of a family patriarch or matriarch as the deadly coronavirus inflicts an extremely disproportionate blow to the oldest citizens of Maine.

Maine officially passed 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, joining 45 other states that had passed this solemn milestone earlier in the pandemic. While mostly symbolic, Maine’s 1,000th death comes at a time when rates of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising again statewide.

In recent months, the demographics of COVID-19 in Maine have changed dramatically – largely due to vaccine availability and high inoculation rates – so the majority of new coronavirus cases are in people under 40 years old. But throughout the pandemic, COVID-19 has been the deadliest. among the oldest citizens of Maine.

About 53% of all COVID-related deaths, or 535 of the 1,002 reported on Tuesday, were in Maine residents aged 80 or older, even though they only represent 5% of the population. Another 254 deaths, or 25.4%, were Mainers in their 60s, while 126 residents in their 60s fell victim to the virus.

In total, 915 of Maine’s 1,002 deaths – a staggering 91.3% – have been among Mainers aged 60 or older, even though they represent less than 20% of all cases to date.

“Those we have lost to COVID-19 are people we loved and cherished – parents, grandparents, siblings, children, loved ones and friends, all precious members of our Maine community,” said Governor Janet Mills in a statement Tuesday. “We mourn their passing and mourn the moments they are no longer able to share with us.”

More than half of the deaths in Maine occurred between December 2020 and February 2021, with cases and hospitalizations reaching levels never seen before during the pandemic. The current outbreak has already passed this period of hospitalizations and could eclipse it in terms of the number of cases as well.

Statistically speaking, Maine has fared better than almost any other state in the past 18 months.

With 73 deaths per 100,000 population, Maine has a lower COVID-19 death rate than all states except Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska, according to the monitoring and analysis of the New York Times. That’s about a third of the rate for the nation as a whole and is four times lower than Mississippi’s 311 deaths per 100,000 people.

Not surprisingly, Maine’s two most populous counties account for the largest share of COVID cases and associated deaths. Together, Cumberland and York counties lost 361 residents to the viral disease, followed by Penobscot County with 132 deaths and Androscoggin with 92.

But some of Maine’s more rural counties have higher per capita death rates, despite being less populated. In Oxford County, for example, one in 817 residents has died from COVID since March 2020, while the rate in Aroostook is one in 944 residents.

On the other end of the spectrum, Lincoln County lost one in 8,659 residents – a rate 10 times lower than Oxford County – while neighboring Knox County had the second-lowest rate in the world. State with one death per 3,977 inhabitants.

Earlier this week, the United States took another symbolic but historic milestone when COVID-related deaths surpassed the estimated 675,000 deaths caused by the 1918 influenza pandemic nationwide. Fortunately, Maine is still a long way from matching the rough estimate of 5,000 deaths from the 1918 pandemic.

Yet each of those 1,002 deaths represents a grandparent or relative, aunt or uncle, friend or coworker or neighbor of someone else in Maine. And due to the stringent security measures implemented in hospitals to limit the spread of the virus, many of those 1,002 people have died without the people they knew or loved around them.

As a hospital chaplain, Reverend Shelly Snow has had to give bedside counseling to people who have lost the battle with disease, as well as family members stuck outside in parking lots or forced to say goodbye over the phone. The experience was unlike anything Snow expected during his chaplaincy.

“I wear scrubs now when I walk into a COVID unit, and hospital chaplains typically don’t wear hospital scrubs,” said Snow, clinical chaplain for Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford and Sanford. “I didn’t think I would ever be able to facilitate an end-of-life farewell, either virtually or over the phone. “

Snow said she witnessed “a lot of sadness, people feeling lonely, people unable to have these visits with their loved ones.” But she also saw how the pandemic reaffirmed the importance of saying “I love you” or “thank you” to each other as well as asking or passing on forgiveness.

And while Snow said she saw a lot of sadness during the pandemic, she also saw how the pandemic can bring about positive change. As an example, Snow recalled being visited by someone who was in a “very serious situation” when she last saw her in the COVID unit. Now recovered, the former patient returned to thank her and explain how they were working to rebuild family relationships.

“People remember what’s important in their lives and do it to the best of their ability,” Snow said.

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