COVID-19 continues to linger in Lincoln County, as 14 new cases have been identified in residents in the past week, up from nine new cases the week before.
According to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention data current through Monday, Nov. 21, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in March 2020, 6,603 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus – 5,524 confirmed cases and 1,079 probable. The number of deaths in Lincoln County residents remained at 41.
The number of residents who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic rose by one to 109.
Lincoln County has a “moderate to high” rate of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 261,832.30. The number does not represent fully vaccinated individuals and, since the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both require two doses, the number can be higher than 100,000.
The census data for Lincoln County provided by the Maine CDC lists a population of 34,634. Of those residents, 27,185, or 78.49%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 27,905, or 80.57%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data.
A total of 90,683 doses of vaccine have been administered, up 1,147 doses from last week. Those counted in the final dose category have either received the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
There have been 35,593 additional or booster shots given to Lincoln County residents.
LincolnHealth offers the COVID-19 vaccine to anyone 6 months and older.
LincolnHealth spokesperson John Martins has urged people to get their flu shot and bivalent COVID-19 booster shot, which contains components of the original COVID-19 strain as well as the omicron variant.
For more information, people can contact their primary care physician or visit vaccine.mainehealth.org.
MaineHealth is maintaining a database of COVID-19 information that can be accessed at mainehealth.org/coronavirus-COVID-19/what-to-do.
The health system also recommends staying home when sick, testing for COVID-19 in the event of symptoms or contact with a COVID-19-positive person, and seeking care when necessary.
LCN did receive an update from LincolnHealth because of an early deadline for this week’s edition.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of Nov. 21, the Maine CDC has reported 299,860 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 729 from the week before. Of those cases, 84,875 are probable.
There have been 6,286 hospitalizations in the state, including 27 reported in the past week. There have been 2,718 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including seven reported in the last week. The statewide case rate is 2,245.9 per 10,000 people, up from 2,240.4 last week.
