Topsham Fire and Rescue paramedic Brian Whalen administers a COVID-19 vaccination shot to Topsham EMT Catrina Green on Saturday. At right, Travis Gibson documents each vaccination. In the foreground is Topsham Fire Chief Chris McLaughlin. Contributed photo
TOPSHAM — Local emergency medical providers received their first COVID-19 vaccinations over the weekend.
About 50 licensed EMS providers from Topsham and other fire departments in Sagadahoc County were received the first of two vaccination shots Saturday or Sunday, said Mike Labbe, Topsham’s EMS director. The second will need to be administered 28 days after the first, Labbe said.
On Sunday, about 20 Brunswick EMS providers were vaccinated, according to Brunswick Fire Chief Ken Brillant.
Out of his 40 staff members eligible for this round of vaccinations, 27 have received them.
Whether for personal or religious reasons, Brillant said a handful of eligible employees opted not to get vaccinated.
“I don’t want to compare it to the flu vaccine because it is obviously a different animal to deal with,” Brillant said. “But it’s the same principle.”
EMS workers appeared to have the highest mortality rate of all health care workers fighting the coronavirus, the Morning Sentinel reported on Dec. 30.
Mid Coast Hospital is currently treating five inpatients for COVID-19, according to hospital spokesperson Judy Kelsh.
Since March, they have treated 64 patients for the virus at the hospital. There have been 373 confirmed positive tests since March, with 167 of those just this month.
There have been 358 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Sagadahoc County and 21,998 confirmed cases statewide, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been 114 cases of COVID-19 in Freeport and 25 in Harpswell, according to the Maine CDC, which does not provide case data for Brunswick.
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