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338,663 Cumulative vaccinations (An increase of 10,306 from Friday)

222,405 First doses administered (An increase of 4,738 from Friday)

116,258 Second doses administered (An increase of 5,568 from Friday)

44,492 Total cases (An increase of 197 from Friday)

702 Deaths (An increase of 1 from Friday)

197 New daily cases (An increase of 19 from Friday)

74 Currently in hospital (An increase of 6 from Friday)

Health facilities have expressed concern that they won’t be able to maintain quality medical care for the state’s lowest-income residents without an increase in the amount of money they receive from the state.

The problem has magnified over the last year. More people enrolled in MaineCare amid the pandemic, raising questions about the sustainability of the program tasked with ensuring the most vulnerable people have access to healthcare, including those with low incomes and those who are medically needy.

“The biggest issue we have right now is getting coverage for individuals and having a sustainable model of reimbursement (from MaineCare) for those services,” said Chrissi Maguire, the president and CEO of Mount Desert Island Hospital. “It’s really abysmal.”

More than 345,000 residents — about 1 in 4 Mainers — are signed up for MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program, and the number of new monthly enrollees has grown substantially in the last year. An average of 3,600 more individuals enrolled each month since March 2020 compared to the six months prior to COVID-19, according to the Office of Fiscal and Program Review. READ MORE

Maine hospitals anticipate another surge in demand for COVID-19 vaccines after state officials announced residents aged 60 and older would be next in line for shots, an extension to a greater population than previously anticipated.

Friday’s announcement that Maine would switch to an age-based vaccination system comes as three out of five Mainers aged 70 and up have received at least one vaccine dose while the state’s vaccine allocation is expected to increase and the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is likely to be approved by the federal government this weekend.

Appointments have been easier to come by for many Maine seniors over the past few weeks as supply has increased. But the roughly 75,000 people age 70 and up who have not yet been vaccinated — coupled with about 180,000 newly eligible Mainers — are likely to lead to a surge of demand that exceeds even an increased supply of vaccines. READ MORE

By Rosemary Lausier of the Bangor Daily News

Another Mainer has died as health officials on Saturday reported 197 more coronavirus cases across the state.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 2,073. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. That’s up from 2,036 on Friday.

An Oxford County resident succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 702. READ MORE

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was one of two Democrats to oppose a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that passed the chamber early Saturday in a win for President Joe Biden partially muted by a derailed drive to boost the minimum wage.

The new president’s vision for flushing cash to individuals, businesses, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a 219-212 vote after 2 a.m. on Saturday. It ships the massive measure to the Senate, where Democrats look bent on passing a party-line bill while resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues.

Democrats said the still-faltering economy and the half-million American lives lost demanded quick, decisive action. GOP lawmakers, they said, were out of step with a public that polling shows largely views the bill favorably. Republicans said the bill was too expensive and said too few education dollars would be spent quickly to immediately reopen schools. READ MORE