AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine’s health care providers have started scheduling COVID-19 vaccines for those 70 and older, despite a short supply of doses.
Gov. Janet Mills’ office has published a list online showing where people in that category can schedule an appointment.
MaineHealth was flooded with more than 18,000 calls Monday, the first day people could request an appointment, John Porter, spokesperson for the health care network, told the Portland Press Herald. That number is equal to Maine’s statewide weekly supply of vaccines.
“Patient vaccinations are rolling out across the system this week,” he said, while noting “demand way exceeds the supply right now.”
The rollout comes after Mills announced last week that those 70 and older and younger adults with high-risk health conditions would be moved closer to the front of the line for vaccinations.
In other pandemic-related news:
PROTEST CANCELED
The annual “Hands Around The Capitol” event that protests the supreme court decision legalizing abortion has been canceled.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland announced that Saturday’s event was canceled “due to safety reasons.”
The event has been each year since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision. During the event, participants gather around the Statehouse and a bell is rung for each year since the ruling.
Organizers had previously said the event would carry on and urged participants to wear masks.
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