Several campuses say they are strongly encouraging their students and staff to get vaccinations but won’t require them as long as the vaccines are authorized only for emergency use by the FDA.
COVID-19
State health officials tell vaccine-eligible Mainers: ‘This is your week’
Maine CDC’s director says robust supplies and ample appointment slots mean people who are 50 or older should try to get shots as younger Mainers wait for the eligibility window to open wider.
National ban on renter evictions during COVID-19 pandemic is extended
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved to extend the pandemic-related protection, which had been scheduled to expire on Wednesday, through the end of June.
Portland elementary and middle school students will go back to classrooms 4 days per week
The target date for increasing in-person learning is April 26, the superintendent said in a letter to families.
U.S. CDC nearly doubles vaccine shipments to Maine pharmacies this week
The pharmacies, which will receive 23,370 doses, have been vaccinating teachers and child care workers, and will expand their services to anyone 50 or older beginning Thursday.
In photos: Portraits of newly vaccinated Mainers
Thousands of adults in Maine are being vaccinated every week, and the state’s COVID-19 vaccination program will be getting a substantial boost this week, with 10,010 additional doses, a 28 percent increase. On Thursday, a vaccine clinic was held at the Waterboro Fire Department, where Northern Light Health employees administered about 130 Moderna vaccine doses, most of them second doses for older Mainers. These portraits, taken by Press Herald staff photographer Brianna Soukup, are of just a handful of the people who came to receive their vaccine that day.
Coronavirus cases increase across University of Maine System
The positivity rate remains below the state average but some students and staff are not participating in weekly COVID-19 testing.
Maine reports its first case of coronavirus variant from Brazil
The fact that the infected Franklin County resident had not traveled recently indicates that the variant already is in the community.
More than 30,000 Mainers use state vaccine registry in first days
Launched quietly Tuesday by the Maine CDC, the site uses scheduling technology developed by a firm that helped launch California’s vaccination registration and appointment system.
Updated: Q&A on vaccinations and the state’s new registry
What’s vaccine efficacy? Should I use the state’s new registry? Why do I have to keep wearing a mask after vaccination?