Maine DHHS and DOE Promote COVID-19 Vaccination in Maine Schools

July 28, 2021

AUGUSTA— The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in partnership with the Maine Department of Education (DOE) announced today a comprehensive plan to support vaccination of school staff and students against COVID-19. This plan advances Maine’s nation-leading vaccination rate and complements the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s new recommendation on universal masking in schools by helping students and staff safely gather in person and in classrooms amidst the nationwide surge of the Delta variant.

The Maine school COVID-19 vaccination plan consists of three parts:

  • Supporting schools in launching free vaccine clinics: Maine CDC will connect interested schools with Maine’s hospitals, doctors, public health nurses, and other vaccinators, using an online survey and application, to support vaccine clinics. While free vaccine is widely available in various settings across Maine, school-based clinics provide a convenient, accessible option for school community members.
  • Promoting COVID-19 vaccine education: Tomorrow, the Departments will host a webinar for school leaders, led by Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah, and will distribute letters for school administrators, parents / guardians, and school and community health care providers on COVID-19 vaccination. These letters will be translated in multiple languages and include information on the disease, the COVID-19 vaccine, and the nuts-and-bolts of how to get vaccinated. Maine CDC will also launch youth-oriented educational messages via social media.
  • Collecting and posting school vaccination rates: Maine DHHS will begin collecting school staff vaccination rates monthly starting on September 1 and will publicly post the school rates mid-month. This will resemble the Maine Health Care Worker COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard which DHHS launched in June and provides monthly reports on every hospital and long-term care facility. The reporting will include fully vaccinated staff at preK-12 public schools and charter schools, private schools, and career and technical schools. Maine DHHS will also begin posting vaccination rates of youth ages 19 and younger by school administrative unit every two weeks beginning in mid-August. While vaccination rates by age are already publicly available, connecting them more directly to school communities can help guide efforts to bring vaccine clinics to communities where the rates are low.

“Keeping children safe and healthy is critical to their ability to learn, grow, and thrive,” said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “By supporting schools in offering vaccination clinics, helping communities understand the benefits of these safe and effective vaccines, and equipping school leaders with information to make the best decisions for their communities, we can limit the spread of COVID-19.”

“Maine school staff and leaders have risen to every challenge presented by the dynamic pandemic that continues to proliferate among unvaccinated people,” said DOE Commissioner Pender Makin. “Maine Department of Education and our partners at Maine DHHS and Maine CDC will continue to provide support and resources for the field.”

The Maine school COVID-19 vaccination plan builds on DHHS and DOE’s existing partnership to keep school communities safe from COVID-19. The Departments continue to enroll schools in a free pooled COVID-19 testing program that allows schools to easily test many staff and students at once and quickly respond to any positive cases. As of July 27, 2021, 166 schools in 50 SAUs have signed up, with a total of 54,185 school students and staff potentially participating in weekly testing this fall. Rapid antigen testing is also available to schools, with Maine DHHS providing schools with 31,680 BinaxNOW antigen tests since last fall. DHHS and DOE also previously hosted vaccine clinics for school staff and teachers.

Maine continues to demonstrate nation-leading progress in administering vaccinations and containing the spread of COVID-19. More than 63 percent of Maine’s population is fully vaccinated and 68 percent has received at least one dose, according to theU.S. CDC vaccination tracker. Statewide, 48 percent of percent of youth ages 12 to 19 have been fully vaccinated, with 52 percent having had a first dose. No vaccine is yet authorized for children under age 12.

COVID-19 vaccine remains widely available across the state. To find a vaccination location, go to maine.gov/covid19/vaccines/vaccination-sites or call the Community Vaccination Line at 1-888-445-4111.