More than 75 percent of eligible Mainers fully vaccinated

By The Associated Press

More than 75 percent of Maine’s eligible population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

About 70 percent of the entire population is fully vaccinated as of Wednesday morning, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure includes Mainers too young to get shots. Vaccines for children younger than 12 are expected to potentially become available early in November.

There is still some geographic disparity in the state’s vaccination rates. Nearly 90 percent of eligible people are vaccinated in Cumberland County, but the rate is as low as 64 percent in more rural counties such as Piscataquis and Somerset, state records show. However, the state has one of the highest rates in the country as a whole.

Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, said Monday that Mainers should get a flu shot as well because “it’s more important than ever to take care of your health and keep the people you love safe.”