WALDOBORO, Maine — EDITORS NOTE: NEWS CENTER Maine's Chris Costa answers some of the most asked questions by Maine people about the COVID vaccine and how you can get your appointment scheduled, in the above video.
One hundred more Maine police officers and firefighters got their first dose of protection from COVID-19 Saturday at a vaccine clinic managed by Waldoboro EMS.
The Maine CDC says it will take months for enough vaccines to be produced for people in the United States. Maine is following vaccine priority recommendations from a U.S. CDC advisory group. As vaccine availability increases, these recommendations are expected to expand to include more groups.
Right now, Maine is currently in Phase 1a. That means select people – healthcare workers, people who live and work at long-term care facilities, and public safety employees – can get the vaccine.
Right now, people age 70 and up can also request an appointment to get the vaccine. Information for people ages 65 to 69, and other Phase 1b groups is not available yet.
Waldoboro’s ambulance service agreed to vaccinate half of Lincoln County’s first responders, who are now part of the priority 1a group under Maine CDC guidelines.
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Waldoboro EMS imposed a limit of 100 people for the clinic because of the limited vaccine supply. However, Waldoboro EMS medical director Dr. James Li says they can usually get an extra dose out of each bottle of vaccine, which should allow for a few additional people to be called in to get the shot.
“We use every drop,” Li said.
Waldoboro officials use the Moderna vaccine, which calls for a second dose in four weeks. A second vaccine clinic is scheduled for next weekend for EMS workers who were vaccinated on January 1. Those who received the first dose vaccine this Saturday are already scheduled for their second.
Lincoln County Emergency Management, which helps coordinate the program, says that more than 75% of the county’s first responders should have received at least one dose of COVID Vaccine by the end of the month.