Mills criticizes MaineHealth for staff vaccination policy

Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday lashed out at MaineHealth over reports that it was administering COVID-19 vaccinations to staff who didn’t currently meet the state’s criteria for inoculation.

The state’s largest health care system has provided the vaccine for its 22,000 employees and even some contractors according to a schedule that allowed some to get the shot before they are eligible under the state rules, the Maine Sunday Telegram previously reported.

A statement from MaineHealth said that it began vaccinating personnel in late December in accordance with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The state later updated its guidance to say that only health care workers with direct patient contact should be vaccinated, but MaineHealth had already given the first doses to its full workforce, according to the statement.

As part of the planned rollout, a small number consultants from outside Maine also received the vaccine in mid-January, but MaineHealth said it complied with the state rules in place at the time.

“MaineHealth’s decision to vaccinate all its care team members has proven critical as it prepares to set up mass vaccination clinics across its service area. For instance, a majority of those employees who have been working primarily from home during the pandemic are now being redeployed to staff vaccine,” the statement read in part. “We believe that it is the best approach for patients, care team members and the communities we serve.”

On Tuesday, Mills issued a statement of her own, saying, “We are in the midst of the largest, most difficult vaccination effort of our time and our health care providers have been important partners in this effort. But we have a limited supply of the vaccine, and we have had to prioritize who can be vaccinated. Right now, we are focused on protecting those who are providing direct care — frontline health care workers — and those who are 70 or older because their lives are most at risk.

"MaineHealth’s decision to vaccinate outside of this strategy undermines the public’s confidence in our efforts. Simply put, it was not the appropriate way to give away our precious vaccine.”