Maine CDC reports 24 new deaths, 217 more cases of COVID-19

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday reported 24 more deaths of people with COVID-19, a significant jump that state officials attributed to a review of death records over the past 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.

Over the past two days, the Maine CDC has reported a total of 41 deaths related to COVID-19. However, only two of these deaths have occurred in recent days. The remainder happened over the past month, but was identified as being related to COVID-19 by Maine CDC staff during periodic reviews of death certificates that have been filed with the Data Division, research and vital statistics.

Yet the 41 additional deaths highlight the toll COVID-19 continues to take on residents of Maine – particularly those aged 70 or older – even as the number of new infections and hospitalizations tends to decline and as vaccine stocks increase.

Maine CDC director Dr. Nirav Shah is expected to hold a briefing today at 2 p.m.

A sign thanking people for receiving their vaccinations hangs at the vaccination clinic at St Christopher’s Church in York on Wednesday February 24. Staff photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette

Although the number of new infections varies widely from day to day, ranging from 97 to 218 cases over the past week, the overall number of cases in Maine had declined after the late outbreak of the fall and early winter. The seven-day average was 150 Thursday, up slightly from the average of 148 cases per day for the week ending February 18, but more than four times lower than the high average of 625 reported on January 15.

To date, the Maine CDC has reported 44,117 total confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 since the detection of the coronavirus in Maine last March. The 24 additional deaths reported Thursday bring the state’s total to 701.

The pace of vaccinations also continues to accelerate in Maine as more doses arrive in the state from the federal government and older Mainers are given additional options to receive vaccines.

As of Thursday morning, health care providers had administered a total of 316,462 vaccines in Maine. This figure includes 211,451 first doses as well as 105,011 second doses of either of Moderna’s Pfizer vaccines, both of which require two injections to achieve a complete inoculation.

Just under 16% of Maine’s population, or about 1.3 million people, received at least one dose of the vaccine on Thursday, while 7.8% received both vaccines. The current phase of Maine’s vaccination campaign is focused on people aged 70 or older, although eligibility could expand to those 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 had received at least one shot, according to the Bloomberg tracking.

Yet there are significant geographic disparities in vaccinations due to the way vaccine doses are distributed and the rate at which health care providers administer these vaccines. The biggest disparity is found 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 rates of highest per capita COVID-19 infection.

About 59 percent of 193,000 Maine residents aged 70 or older had received at least one dose by Thursday morning, while 16 percent had received both doses. Maine is the oldest state in the country, and more than 85% of COVID-19 deaths reported in Maine, to date, have occurred in people in this age group of 70 and older, even s ‘they only represent 12% of cases.

Statewide on Thursday, 67 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 on Thursday, up from 74 the day before. There were 22 people treated in intensive care units, up from 25 reported on Wednesday, and eight people were connected to ventilators.

This story will be updated.

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