First Mainers get second dose of coronavirus vaccine

AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) - As of Monday, 18 Mainers have received their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

The latest numbers show 33,425 people in the state have received the initial dose.

The head of the Maine CDC said the rollout for the vaccination plan has been slower than expected, calling the nation “supply constrained.”

Dr. Nirav Shah says at this point, with the amount of vaccine they are receiving, the state will remain in phase 1A of the vaccination plan through the end of this month.

Shah says this figures to be slow going until, Maine starts receiving at least 50,000 doses of the vaccine each week.

“Is that the only number,” said Shah. “No. Absolutely not. There are other models that suggest that it’s not until we get many tens of thousands of those more per week, 60, 70, 80,000, that we start really lifting those supply constraints. But until we’re getting it at 50, we’re not really talking turkey.”

Lack of COVID-19 vaccine doses are a problem across the nation, not just in Maine.

Shah says as of Monday, around 2.7% of Maine’s population has received the vaccine.

That puts Maine near the top of the list in the U.S.

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