Maine to receive first batch of vaccine in a series of shipments

Maine public health officials provided details on the state’s COVID-19 vaccine allocation on Friday, confirming that it will receive 12,675 doses in the first shipment in mid-December before subsequent shipments multiply that number by nearly six early next month.

The first round of shipments, totaling 72,925 doses over three weeks, will be used to protect frontline healthcare workers in hospitals and residents of long-term care facilities across the state, although the initial batches will suffice to vaccinate only a fraction. of these people. The shipments will include both Pfizer and Moderna products, Maine health officials said.

The first doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which is on track to receive emergency clearance from the Food and Drug Administration on December 15, will be delivered to six locations in Maine that have ultra-cold freezers needed to store the vaccine unless 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit).

Dr Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, acknowledged that recent confusion over an apparent reduction from the 36,000 doses initially allocated to Maine has heightened concerns about maintaining transparency and confidence in the distribution. vaccines in the weeks and months to come.

Shah said the governors had asked the federal government to post information about vaccine distribution on a public website.

“So everyone knows what the states are getting,” Shah said at a press briefing on Friday. “So we can see if there is a change, if there are some who have had more and others who have less.”

Governor Janet Mills said Wednesday that federal projections for Maine’s part in initial shipments of the first COVD-19 vaccine expected to be approved by the FDA had been reduced by nearly two-thirds, to 12,675 doses.

Mills said it was “alarming” to see the reduction in planned shipments of the Pfizer vaccine, which could start arriving in mid-December.

After holding a virtual meeting with the Maine congressional delegation on Friday morning, the Mills administration said it learned that Pfizer had reduced the number of vaccine doses it planned to ship around the world, including to the Maine, due to supply chain issues. The company has also extended the schedule for shipping vaccine doses to a longer period.

With this clarification, the Maine CDC placed orders with the federal government for 12,675 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, which would be enough to vaccinate 12,675 people with the first of two required doses, Shah said.

“(We hope) to be able to put them in the arms of frontline healthcare workers and soon after nursing home residents as soon as possible,” Shah said, “in an effort to protect those most vulnerable in Maine. , as well as those who take care of them. “

The FDA is expected to consider emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine on December 10 and the Moderna vaccine on December 17, with approval being issued within days and distribution to states to begin shortly thereafter.

After the initial vaccine shipment, officials in Maine expect two more weekly allocations of 12,675 doses each of Pfizer vaccine. In addition, they expect shipments of the Moderna vaccine, around 24,200 doses in the first week of its availability and 10,700 doses in the second week. The Moderna vaccine also requires two doses per person, but does not require super-cold storage.

It is not clear when additional shipments would arrive. Shah said federal officials are currently preparing distribution for the fourth through sixth week of the vaccine rollout. Allocations are based on population.

Jeanne Lambrew, commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, renewed her concerns on Friday about the incalculable cost of distributing the vaccine that would be borne by taxpayers in Maine without additional federal funding, which is under consideration in the part of a COVID-19 relief program proposed by a bipartisan group of senators, including Maine Sens. Susan Collins, Republican, and Angus King, Independent.

Maine’s congressional delegation, including Reps Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, both Democrats, issued a joint statement with Mills after Friday’s Zoom meeting, saying it was a “productive and in-depth discussion.” on Maine’s response to the ongoing economic and health crisis. .

“We all agree that we urgently need additional federal relief program to support struggling families, small businesses, employees, students and health care providers,” the statement said. “We have come together to defend the resources Maine needs and we remain committed to working together to help our families and communities weather this storm.

Shah said a recent “dry run” to test how vaccines would be delivered in Maine and distributed statewide had gone well.

Of the 12,675 initial doses destined for Maine, Maine Medical Center in Portland, Northern Light Mercy Hospital in Portland, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Northern Light AR Gould Hospital in Almost Isle and Maine CDC facility will receive 975 doses each, for a total distribution of 5,850 doses.

The remaining 6,825 doses from the initial shipment will be administered to residents of long-term care facilities in Maine, through an agreement with senior care facilities and pharmacies, according to the Maine CDC statement.

Shah said speed and fairness will be his main concerns throughout the vaccine rollout.

“What I told my team at Maine CDC is that every morning I want to know the answers to two questions: how many people did we vaccinate yesterday and, just as important, did we vaccinate the right ones. people, ”Shah said.

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