Walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations will be available at LincolnHealth’s clinic at the Boothbay Region YMCA’s Marylouise Tandy Cowan Fieldhouse in Boothbay Harbor on Monday, May 3 from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1-3 p.m.
John Martins, spokesperson for LincolnHealth, said by phone on Wednesday, April 28 that this is currently the only day on the books so far that will be offered for walk-ins, with a more regular schedule to be announced soon.
Martins recommended that patients check the websites and Facebook pages for MaineHealth and LincolnHealth for updates.
The appointments are for ages 18 and older and people need to bring photo identification, proof of a Maine address, and an insurance card, if they have one. Uninsured residents can be vaccinated as well, Martins said in an email.
Despite a well-vaccinated population, cases of COVID-19 in Lincoln County residents continue to rise, with 59 new cases in the past week and 59 the week before. Since the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention 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, 118, up from 100 last week.
Lincoln County’s case totals jumped from second-lowest to fourth-lowest in the state in the past week, with Waldo, Washington, and Piscataquis logging lower total cases. The county’s case rate per 10,000 people is fifth-lowest at 247.8, up from 230.6 last week.
According to Maine CDC data current as of Tuesday, April 27, Lincoln County has a “high” rate of doses administered per 100,000 residents relative to other counties in the state at 94,144.48.
The census data for Lincoln County provided by the Maine CDC lists a population of 34,634. Of those residents, 18,443, or 53.25%, have received their first dose of the vaccine and 14,163, or 40.89%, have received the second and final dose, according to the agency’s data. A total of 32,606 doses of vaccine have been administered.
Martins said by email that the clinic plans to deliver 1,010 second doses of the vaccine and has the capacity to deliver 800 first doses. He said people can schedule an appointment online at mainehealth.org/vaccine.
“We currently have appointments available this week and encourage those who have yet to be vaccinated to make an appointment,” Martins said.
Martins said that people ages 16-18 will be routed to the MaineHealth clinic in Westbrook for the Pfizer vaccine.
“Many locations, including the Boothbay Region Y clinic, offer only the Moderna vaccine, and Pfizer is the only vaccine approved for this age group,” Martins wrote.
According to a database maintained by the Maine CDC, vaccine appointments can also be requested at Hannaford in Damariscotta, Walgreens locations in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, Nathan’s Pharmacy in Boothbay Harbor, and the Community Pharmacy in Waldoboro. Appointments are also available at Walmart and Shaw’s locations, all outside Lincoln County.
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.
According to Maine CDC data current as of Tuesday, April 27, since COVID-19 arrived in Lincoln County in mid-March 2020, 851 residents have had the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus — 704 confirmed cases and 147 probable.
Hospitalizations held at 19 and deaths stayed at two total.
At the state level, public health officials have announced that people from any other state will not have to quarantine or obtain a negative COVID-19 test before traveling to Maine.
Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, said that guidelines may change if one state sees a high number of variant strains causing increases in cases.
Gov. Janet Mills also rescinded the state’s outdoor mask mandate on Tuesday, April 27.
“We are updating Maine’s public health guidance to reflect the U.S. CDC’s latest recommendations that indicate the risk of transmitting COVID-19 while outdoors is low, especially as more people get vaccinated,” Mills said in a press release. “With the summer months nearly upon us, this offers a great opportunity for people to get outside and safely enjoy all that Maine has to offer. I applaud all the work Maine people have put in to protect themselves and others and continue to encourage them to get vaccinated and wear a mask when inside or when around others so that we can get this pandemic fully behind us.”
Martins said that LincolnHealth’s Respiratory Care Clinic on the Miles Campus in Damariscotta continues to see an increase in the positivity rate of COVID-19 tests.
From April 19-25, the clinic tested 450 individuals for COVID-19 with 21 positives, a positivity rate of 4.67%, up from 3.39% last week.
“We continue to see increase in positive case percentages, as has most of Maine. Last week’s percentage of positive cases was its highest since January,” Martins said.
The state’s swab-and-send site on LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta offers drive-up 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 2.72%, down from 4.75% last week.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the seven-day average positivity rate for this past week is 5.2%, down from 5.6% last week.
State COVID-19 numbers
According to data current as of Tuesday, the Maine CDC has reported 60,691 COVID-19 cases in Maine, an increase of 2,226 from the week before. Of those cases, 15,414 are probable.
There have been 1,829 hospitalizations in the state. There have been 778 deaths so far from COVID-19 in Maine, including 10 in the last week. The statewide case rate is 453.5 per 10,000 people, up from 436.8 last week.
The number of new cases identified in the past two weeks is 5,317.
