Maine reporting 245 new cases of COVID-19, 1 additional death
May 3—Maine reported 245 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, and one additional death.
Since the pandemic began, Maine has recorded 62,092 cases and 790 deaths.
As the weather warms and more tourists start flowing into Maine, the state lifted all travel restrictions on Saturday, so visitors can come in from any state and not have to have proof of vaccination or a negative test prior to arriving. Travel restrictions for certain states could be re-imposed if there is a spike in cases.
The seven-day average of daily new cases stood at 307.9 on Monday, compared to 360.4 a week ago and 279,9 a month ago.
The vaccination effort continues, although with more clinics now offering walk-ins as demand has weakened. Maine reported on Monday that 638,492 people — 47.5 percent of the state's 1.3 million population — had received at least the first dose of the vaccine. Also, 528,614 had gotten their final dose, representing 39.3 percent of the population.
Maine leads the nation in the percentage of its population who are fully vaccinated, according to the Bloomberg vaccine tracker. Maine is fifth in the country for the percent of the population with at least the first dose, with the top five all New England states. New Hampshire leads the country with 60.7 percent of its population receiving at least the first dose, followed by Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Maine.
Dr. Dora Anne Mills, chief health improvement officer for MaineHealth, the parent company of Maine Medical Center in Portland and operator of a number of vaccination clinics across the state, said in a Facebook post on Sunday that vaccinations are going well, but the pandemic will linger until more people are immunized to start driving down cases.
"Some days recently it feels like we are in a station wagon headed to a family reunion and everyone in the back seat repeatedly whines, 'are we there yet?' Maine in particular, and the U.S. as a whole are doing great when it comes to vaccinations," Mills wrote, noting that young people now are getting hit the hardest with COVID-19. "It is imperative we get the vaccine to youth and young adults as soon as possible. To successfully vaccinate young people, generally access to the vaccine has to be very convenient. In other words, take the vaccine to them."
The vaccines are approved for those 16 and older, and Pfizer is on the cusp of having its vaccine approved for ages 12-15, pending approval by federal regulators. The 12-15 age group could be approved for the Pfizer vaccine as soon as this month, federal officials have said.
Public health experts say now that vaccine supplies are more plentiful, there are two primary explanations for these gaps — access and hesitancy.
"We've gotten through the eager, and the willing," said Dr. Noah Nesin, chief medical officer at Penobscot Community Health Care, a community clinic in the Bangor area that is vaccinating thousands per week. "We are working on the hesitant. The final gasp will be the resistant."
This story will be updated.
