Though vaccination options in Lincoln County are expanding, COVID-19 cases continue to climb, with 63 new cases identified in Lincoln County residents in the past week, up from 59 the week prior.
Walk-in appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations are now available from 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on weekdays at LincolnHealth’s clinic at the Boothbay Region YMCA’s Marylouise Tandy Cowan Fieldhouse in Boothbay Harbor. On Friday, May 14, walk-ins will only be available from 8:15-11:45 a.m.
On Wednesday, May 5, walk-in appointments will run until 6 p.m. and on Saturday, May 8, walk-ins will be available from 8 a.m. to noon.
People must be over 18 and bring a photo ID and insurance card if they have one, LincolnHealth spokesperson John Martins said by email on Tuesday, May 4. He said that any additional walk-in hours will be posted to LincolnHealth’s Facebook page.
Martins said there is no charge for the vaccine. He also said that people who need a ride to the clinic can call 633-1915.
Appointments for a vaccination can be made by visiting vaccine.mainehealth.org or calling 1-877-780-7545.
Martins said that those between ages 16 and 18 can schedule an appointment at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which is approved for that age group, by visiting tinyurl.com/hb4tfhm2. Mid Coast Hospital also offers walk-in clinics from 9 a.m. to noon and 3-7 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The LincolnHealth clinic offers the Moderna vaccine, which is approved for ages 18 and older.
According to LincolnHealth’s April 26-May 2 testing data from the hospital’s Respiratory Care Clinic at the Miles Campus in Damariscotta, 575 individuals were tested for COVID-19 with 36 positives, for a positivity rate of 6.26%, the highest rate ever recorded at the clinic.
The positivity rate for April is 4.14%, still lower than the 4.29% positivity rate recorded in January at the height of the COVID-19 winter surge.
“The common thread tying these cases together is the lack of vaccination in those who tested positive,” Timothy Fox, chief medical officer for LincolnHealth, said by email on Tuesday, May 4. “It has become crystal clear that the vaccine is effective, and for the health of all concerned, we encourage all eligible Lincoln County residents to be vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Lincoln County also saw its largest outbreak this past week at the Twin Bridges Regional Jail.
According to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention data current as of Tuesday, May 4, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in mid-March 2020, 914 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus — 757 confirmed cases and 157 probable.
Hospitalizations increased from 19 to 21 and deaths held at two total.
Since the Maine CDC is no longer actively tracking “completed isolations,” an estimate of the number of people currently sick with COVID-19 in Lincoln County can be made using the total number of new cases reported in the past two weeks, 122, up from 118 last week.
Lincoln County has the fifth-lowest case rate per 10,000 people in the state at 266.1 — after Aroostook, Hancock, Knox, and Waldo counties.
According to Maine CDC data current as of Tuesday, Lincoln County has a “high” rate of doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 100,207.89.
Robert Long, spokesperson for the Maine CDC, said by email the number does not represent fully vaccinated individuals and that since the Pfizer 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, 19,169, or 55.35%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 15,537, or 44.86%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data. A total of 34,706 doses of vaccine have been administered.
According to a database maintained by the Maine CDC, vaccine appointments can be requested at Hannaford in Damariscotta, Walgreens locations in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, Nathan’s Pharmacy in Boothbay Harbor, and Community Pharmacy in Waldoboro.
Appointments are also available at Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Shaw’s locations, all outside Lincoln County.
Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies also started offering walk-in vaccination appointments on Tuesday, May 4.
Patients of Sheepscot Valley Health Center in Coopers Mills can call 549-7581 to make an appointment for a vaccine.
To schedule an appointment at Shaw’s, go to shaws.com/covid-19.
To schedule an appointment at Hannaford, go to hannaford.com/pharmacy/covid-19-vaccine.
To schedule an appointment at Walgreens, go to walgreens.com/schedulevaccine.
To schedule an appointment at Community Pharmacy, go to communityrx.com/covid-19.
To schedule an appointment at Nathan’s Pharmacy, call 315-2280.
The state’s swab-and-send site on LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta offers drive-up COVID-19 testing by appointment from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday and Thursday. To make an appointment, call the clinic at 563-4353.
According to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center, the seven-day average positivity rate for Maine is 3.65%, up from 2.72% last week.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the seven-day average positivity rate for this past week is 4.5%, down from 5.2% last week.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of Tuesday, the Maine CDC has reported 62,857 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 2,166 from the week before. Of those cases, 16,201 are probable.
There have been 1,881 hospitalizations in the state. There have been 791 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including 13 in the last week. The statewide case rate is 469.6 per 10,000 people, up from 453.5 last week.
The number of new cases identified in the past two weeks is 4,392, down from 5,317 last week.
