Gov. Mills announces all Maine residents 16 and older are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine beginning April 7

AUGUSTA — Gov. Janet Mills announced today that all Maine residents age 16 and older will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine beginning next Wednesday, April 7. The acceleration of Maine’s vaccination timeline by a week and a half comes as Maine is expected to receive a significant increase in vaccine supply from the federal government. Vaccination for residents age 16 and older had previously been scheduled to begin on April 19. 

“Maine continues to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible. With the Federal government significantly increasing our supply of vaccines, it is appropriate to accelerate our timeframe and make all Maine people eligible beginning next Wednesday,” said Mills. “While this is a great step forward, Maine people should keep in mind that even though they are eligible it will still take time to get an appointment and get a vaccine. We will continue to work with vaccine providers across Maine to get shots into arms as quickly as we can.”  

 “With nearly three out of every five Maine residents age 50 and older having now received at least one dose of vaccine, we’re prepared to open up appointments to even more Maine people,” said Jeanne Lambrew, commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. “In the coming days and weeks, we’ll continue to work with our valued partners throughout the state to connect eligible Maine people with doses, particularly those who are at high risk or face barriers to vaccination, which will help move Maine closer to recovery.”   

“The fine work of vaccination clinics throughout Maine makes it possible to get shots into the arms of more residents sooner than originally projected,” said Dr. Nirav D. Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “With consistently higher weekly vaccine allocations, we can move ahead with vaccinating all Mainers 16 and older.” 

The vaccine schedule is now as follows: 

·         Now: All Maine residents age 50 and older 

·         April 7: All Maine residents age 16 and older  

As with all changes in eligibility, it will take some time for some vaccine clinics to begin to schedule appointments and administer COVID-19 vaccines. Some vaccine sites may now begin accepting appointments for newly eligible residents, while others are preparing to offer appointments in the coming days. The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for individuals ages 16 and 17, but consent from a parent or legal guardian is required to vaccinate children. For more information on vaccinations for 16 and 17 year old Maine residents, click here.

To date, more than 420,000 Maine people have received their first dose of the vaccine – almost 32 percent of our population, with nearly 20 percent being fully vaccinated. 59 percent of Maine people 50 and older have received their first dose, with almost 36 percent being fully vaccinated. Maine is currently fourth best nationwide for the percentage of its population with at least one dose of vaccine and currently ranks seventh best nationwide for the percentage of its population fully vaccinated. 

The Mills Administration continues to take steps to expand the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine in Maine, including standing up large-scale vaccination sites. Several of these sites are also prepared to expand their capacity to get shots into arms with the increase in vaccine supply from the Federal government.  

Further, the Mills Administration is continuing to expand vaccinations in rural and hard-to-reach communities and for Maine people who are homebound. The State and the Federal Government are also providing vaccine to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) for underserved areas.  Public health nurses are holding clinics throughout the state to meet the needs of at-risk Maine people who cannot easily travel to large-scale community vaccination clinics and working with long-term care facilities to vaccinate new residents and staff.   

The Mills Administration also continues to direct providers to prioritize vaccination of those most at risk of harm from COVID-19 as well as those who may face barriers to vaccination within each age group. This includes but is not limited to those with medical conditions or disabilities that put them at risk, older Mainers who have not yet been vaccinated, and those who live in marginalized, medically-underserved, and remote communities. Accordingly, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services has allocated doses to cancer centers, dialysis centers, FQHCs, and other providers that serve at-risk populations. Beginning next week, the Department will also be supporting “pop-up clinics” requested by community-based organizations to reduce disparities in vaccination among racial, ethnic, and other minorities. Finally, the Administration is working with hospitals across the state to offer vaccines to patients before being discharged from a hospital stay or emergency department visit. 

Despite having the oldest median age population in the country, Maine, adjusted for population, ranks third lowest in the total number of COVID-19 cases and fourth lowest in the number of deaths from COVID-19, according to the U.S. CDC. The state’s seven-day positivity rate is the seventh lowest in the nation, according to Johns Hopkins testing tracker. Adjusted for population, Maine’s seven-day testing volume is the seventh highest in the nation.  

Additionally, according to Moody’s Analytics and CNN Business’s “Back to Normal Index”, Maine is best in New England in returning to pre-pandemic economic activity. 

Maine people may pre-register to be notified when appointments are available at https://vaccinateME.maine.gov. If you need help getting information about pre-registering or scheduling an appointment, call the Maine COVID-19 Community Vaccination Line at 1-888-445-4111. 

Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services is offering a free option for Maine people who need a ride to and from a COVID-19 vaccination appointment. Individuals should call 1-855-608-5172 to reserve a ride. 

More information on vaccination for people in Maine is available at Maine’s COVID-19 vaccine website.