COVID-19 Vaccination Rate Among Maine Health Care Workers Nears 100 Percent

Health Care Worker Immunization Rule Finalized

AUGUSTA— The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) today published updated monthly data showing that 97.7 percent of Maine health care workers were fully vaccinated for COVID-19 at the end of October, continuing a significant increase in vaccination in September.

For comparison, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the adult full vaccination rate was 82.3 percent in Maine and 70.1 percent in the U.S. on November 8, 2021. The health facility vaccination rate of 97.7 percent is similar to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) worker vaccination rate of 96.9 percent reported last month.

Specifically, the vaccination rate at hospitals was 98.1 percent; at nursing facilities was 96.8 percent; at intermediate care facilities was 95.6 percent; at ambulatory care facilities was 92.6 percent; and at assisted living facilities was 96.8 percent.

This demonstrates that the policies Maine has adopted have accelerated COVID-19 vaccination among health care workers, protecting these critical workers, their patients and residents, and their capacity to care for people with COVID-19 as well as other serious health issues.

The number of unvaccinated workers reported by health care facilities plummeted by 14,810 (92%) between May and October. The number of total staff reported by these facilities fell by 516 (1%) over this same period. Facility expansion and contraction, reporting rate fluctuations, and seasonal changes in workforce affect these trends.

“Maine has become a national leader in securing our workers’ health, our patients’ lives, and our health system’s capacity as the dangerous Delta variant continues to inflict harm,” said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Nirav D. Shah. “We urge all Maine people to get vaccinated – it's the best and most effective tool we have to protect our front-line health care workers, prevent serious illness, and turn the tide on this pandemic.”

Maine DHHS also issued the final rule that adds COVID-19 to the set of vaccinations required of designated health care facility workers. After taking public comment, this final rule incorporates feedback, adopts some clarifying guidance, and replaces the emergency rule which has expired. Updated FAQs describe the final rule’s changes and potential interactions with recently issued State and Federal rules on vaccination for COVID-19 to promote workplace and health facility safety.

DHHS began posting health care worker vaccination rates monthly on June 22. On August 12, the Mills Administration announced that workers in licensed health care facilities would be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as they have long been required to get vaccinated against other infectious diseases. Less than a month later, on September 9, President Biden announced a nationwide heath care worker COVID-19 vaccine requirement that does not include a testing alternative. A U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services interim final rule effectuating this policy was posted on November 4, 2021. Enforcement of Maine’s vaccination requirement for health care workers, which is supported by the Maine Hospital Association, the majority of Maine’s health systems, and the Maine Health Care Association, began on October 29, 2021.

Three of the five types of facilities in this survey – hospitals, nursing facilities, and intermediate care facilities – are subject to Maine’s health care worker vaccination rule. Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will contact the facilities with lower vaccination rates about coming into compliance.

This monthly reporting will now end with October 2021 vaccination rates, which DHHS will use in compliance activity. All designated health care facilities covered by the final rule will file an annual compliance report in December 2021 and subsequent years. In addition to using the annual report, Maine DHHS and CDC intend to deploy effective compliance tools such as random audits and complaint-driven investigations to protect health care workers as well as patients.

The COVID-19 vaccine continues to be widely available in Maine, at no cost and often with no appointment necessary. For a list of vaccination sites, visit the State’s vaccine website or call the Community Vaccination Line at 1-888-445-4111.