AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) is preparing to place another order for first doses of COVID-19 vaccine, for 21,475 people, to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Operation Warp Speed.

This is an increase of five percent, or 1,100 doses, over the current week's amount and is expected to remain the same for the next three weeks.

Governor Janet Mills welcomed the Biden Administration’s increased amount for Maine as well its commitment to provide a planning horizon for subsequent weeks allocations, which will allow better planning efforts for Maine's accessible, flexible, and equitable distribution of the vaccine, per a news release. 

Maine CDC's order reflects the maximum number of doses available to Maine for new vaccines.

Maine CDC's order, expected to arrive early next week, will comprise 8,775 doses from Pfizer and 12,700 doses from Moderna for the ninth week of distribution, starting February 8.

Additionally, vaccination sites have begun to receive and administer the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine for individuals vaccinated in the first weeks of distribution.

Combined with the previous orders, Maine expects to have enough to vaccinate approximately 177,000 people in the first nine weeks of distribution.

Since COVID-19 vaccination began in Maine on December 15, 167,111 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given to health care workers, long-term care residents, and older Mainers, including 123,683 people who have received first doses and 43,428 people who have received second doses.

The dashboard on Maines COVID-19 vaccination website shows that 9.2 percent of Maine residents have gotten their first doses.

"For a second week in a row, an increase in COVID-19 vaccines coming to the state will allow Maine to quicken the pace of vaccinating residents age 70 and older who are at greatest risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19," said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. "With rapid use of the new doses and a steady supply, we hope to start vaccinating people ages 65 to 69 the first week in March."

"More vaccination sites are coming online throughout the state," said Dr. Nirav D. Shah, Director of the Maine CDC. "The new sites make it possible to vaccinate more at-risk Maine residents, but demand continues to exceed supply. The best things we can all do to keep each other safe are to wear masks in public, stay at least 6 feet apart, wash hands frequently, and avoid non-essential gatherings."

Maine is completing Phase 1a and starting Phase 1b under its vaccine strategy.

Phase 1a includes patient-facing health care personnel, emergency service personnel such as police and firefighters, and people who support infrastructure critical to Maines COVID-19 response as determined by the Maine CDC.

Phase 1b includes older Maine residents, beginning with those 70 and older; followed by people ages 65 to 69.

Additional information on others in Phase 1b, Phase 1c, and Phase 2 will be released as more information becomes available on the vaccine supply and pace of vaccination in Maine.

In the ninth week of distribution, the 21,475 first doses of vaccine will be sent to hospitals (13,900), outpatient groups (3,975), public safety (1,100), and organizations helping to vaccine people in long-term care facilities not in the retail pharmacy program (2,500).

Maine has paused on sending additional vaccine to the retail pharmacy program operated by the U.S. CDC, as it has sufficient vaccine doses for the coming week.

Next week’s distribution will continue to support sites reaching older people in rural Maine who face challenges getting a vaccine, the release noted. The Department will also continue its work with federally qualified health centers to reach underserved residents.

The newly announced increase in vaccine doses is encouraging, although Maine still needs significantly more doses to effectively protect its residents, the release stated.

As of February 3, over 20 percent of Maine residents ages 70 and older have been vaccinated. With the supply projections for the next three weeks, two-thirds of people in this age group could be vaccinated by the start of March, enabling the State to start vaccinating people ages 65 and older starting the first week of March.

As with previous phases, there will be overlap between groups to ensure every dose the state receives is used to protect the health of Maine people.

Maintaining a focus on older residents remains critical to saving lives. In January 2021, 203 people died with COVID-19 in Maine, nearly one-third of all deaths since the start of the pandemic. Eighty-three percent of Maine deaths in January were among people ages 70 and older.

Additional information on vaccination for people age 70 and older in Maine is available at Maines COVID-19 vaccine website.

The State is committed to vaccinating at high velocity and not wasting any doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the release stated. This means that some individuals are vaccinated before others and not always precisely in the order of the Phases in the Maine vaccine plan.

That said, the work will not stop until every resident in Maine who wants and needs a vaccine gets one, the release concluded.