LEWISTON — To help provide relief to the growing number of COVID-19 outbreaks in Lewiston-Auburn, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center will offer a two- or three-day vaccination clinic during April school vacation, officials announced Thursday.
Details are being finalized, the location not yet announced.
The clinic will be equipped to vaccinate 2,500 people, hospital spokesman Steve Costello said.
“It will be a short-term mass vaccination clinic, possibly on April 22 and 23, maybe the 24th, with 2,500 doses. We’re planning on it being downtown during the vacation week.”
People will need appointments. Information on how to sign up will be forthcoming on the hospital’s webpage, www.stmarysmaine.com.
St. Mary’s is also offering a small clinic at the hospital April 13 in the afternoon and early evening. That clinic will most likely have enough vaccine for 300 people over the age of 18.
The Johnson & Johnson shot offered at that clinic is only available to those at least 18 years old. Only the Pfizer vaccine has FDA authorization for 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds. Moderna is not authorized for people younger than 18.
Initially, St. Mary’s was planning to hold the April 13 clinic only for immediate family members of hospital workers, an estimated 200 doses. However, after hospital officials reviewed state protocols the clinic was opened to the public.
“The state does not want clinics to be just for specific groups any longer. So we are opening it up. Family (of St. Mary’s employees) can come, but we are also opening it up (to the public),” Costello said.
Meanwhile St. Mary’s is no longer offering regular clinics at the hospital because it’s been directed not to do so, Costello said. “It’s not our decision. We’d be doing more clinics if we had more doses.” Vaccine supply it was getting is now going to the Auburn Mall mass vaccination site.
St. Mary’s receives about 500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a week, and is partnering with several agencies, including home health and emergency rescue workers, to deliver those shots to the homebound and marginalized populations, Costello said.
St. Mary’s is also helping staff the Auburn Mall clinic two of the four days a week with paid staff and volunteers, he said.
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