See COVID-19 vaccination rates of school staff at every school in Maine

Three-quarters of teachers and school staff in Maine were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of August, but rates vary widely from school to school, reflecting familiar geographic disparities at the start of the school year.

The first data on vaccination rates, released Wednesday by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, comes as more than a dozen schools have already seen outbreaks of COVID-19 in the first weeks of the semester, forcing students to self-quarantine due to possible exposure. Cases in schools reflect a larger rise in the virus in Maine, with infections having skyrocketed in recent months due to the highly contagious delta variant.

More than 30 schools across the state have perfect immunization rates for staff, with 100 percent of employees fully immunized by the end of August, the data shows. The group includes both public and private schools, including smaller schools – such as Cliff Island School – which have few staff, as well as larger schools, such as Longfellow Elementary School in Portland and Cape Elizabeth Middle School.

Vaccination rates for school staff are highest in Cumberland County, where 88.9% of total staff are fully immunized, state data shows. They are lowest in Waldo County at 60.7 percent, followed by Piscataquis County at 62.5 percent.

Nearly two dozen schools have seen less than 40 percent of teachers and staff get vaccinated. That group includes Mt. View High School in Thorndike, which was one of the first schools in Maine to experience a COVID-19 outbreak this fall.

Data on staff immunization rates are collected by schools or districts and reported to the state. Staff who have not declared their immunization status are counted as unvaccinated. Some administrative units only reported immunization rates at the district level, not at the school level.

A slightly smaller percentage, around 69%, of central operations staff – defined as employees serving multiple schools, such as district administrators or bus drivers – were fully immunized, the data showed.

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