Check your school’s immunization rate

An average of 76 percent of Maine school staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but the percentage of staff vaccinated varies widely by school, ranging from zero to 100 percent.

Vaccination rates are slightly lower for school central operations staff, which include bus drivers, central office employees, and others who are not normally assigned to a particular school. According to data released Wednesday by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education, the overall vaccination rate among school employees is 69%.

“More than three-quarters of Maine school staff have taken a vital step to protect themselves and the health of our children and communities by getting vaccinated against COVID-19,” the DHHS commissioner said. , Jeanne Lambrew, in a press release. “By publishing these vaccination rates each month, we hope to further increase school staff vaccination, curb the spread of COVID-19 and provide school leaders with information to make the best decisions for their communities.”

Data released by the state comes just weeks after schools return to full in-person learning and as the rise of COVID-19 in late summer extends to the unvaccinated population of Maine and the rest of the world. country. President Biden has called on governors to demand vaccines for teachers and school staff as part of his COVID-19 action plan. The White House said last week that nine states and the District of Columbia already have vaccine requirements for K-12 school staff, while Maine is among most states that do not.

“The governor’s overall goal is to increase immunizations among all Maine residents, including teachers and school staff,” Governor Janet Mills spokeswoman Lindsay Crete said in an email response to questions on whether the governor would consider a vaccination warrant for the school. staff. “While we are encouraged to see relatively high vaccination rates in many school systems … this data is new and the administration is starting the analysis process more closely. We will use the new data and information from school leaders, from other states and the public to develop additional strategies to help us achieve this goal. “

The new data is part of the state’s COVID vaccine board and will be updated monthly with vaccination rates from the last day of the previous month, as presented by public and private pre-K-12 schools. . Vaccination rates for this month reflect data as of August 31st. The figures provide the first full review of vaccination rates for teachers and school staff in Maine, although there are some caveats as well.

Only 85% of schools reported vaccination rates, although the state has said it is necessary. It was unclear on Wednesday whether schools had a uniform way of collecting and verifying vaccination status or whether they were required to report their staff. A note on the board indicates that individual staff who did not respond to their school’s vaccination status request were informed that they were not vaccinated.

“As with all new data collection efforts, this is ongoing work, which is expected to increase data quality and integrity each month,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in his statement. “School entities are encouraged to also publish their own rates.”

Among the schools that reported, vaccination rates vary widely.

At Cheverus, a Portland Catholic private institute that implemented a policy earlier this year that required all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Aug. 16, all staff are fully vaccinated.

The school employs 105 people and Jeanette Wycoff, director of communications, said the mandate was well received. Requests for medical or religious exemptions were accepted.

In public schools in Portland, the state’s largest district, vaccination rates for school staff range from 100 percent at Longfellow Elementary School to 81 percent at Deering High School. The vaccination rate for central operations personnel is 86 percent. The state defines school staff as any employee, whether full-time, part-time, or temporary, assigned primarily to a single building, while central operations staff may work across a district or in multiple buildings. .

Portland School Board voted 5-4 last week to reject a proposal calling for a vaccination warrant for employees, with board members citing the district’s already high overall vaccination rate of 92% among staff based in buildings and is concerned that a mandate could result in the loss of staff in areas that are difficult to fill, such as transportation.

Data released by the state on Wednesday also includes average vaccination rates for school staff by county.

Cumberland County has the highest average vaccination rates for school staff, at 88.9%. Several schools in Cumberland County, including Great Falls Elementary School in Gorham, Cape Elizabeth Middle School and Waynflete School have vaccination rates close to or very close to 100 percent.

However, even in Cumberland County there are schools with lower vaccination rates. In Falmouth public schools, for example, only 54.7 percent of Falmouth elementary school staff are fully vaccinated and only 28 percent of central operations staff are fully vaccinated, according to data from the state.

The state scorecard does not accurately reflect vaccination rates at Falmouth schools, however, according to Superintendent Gretchen McNulty. McNulty said the control panel rates are a reflection of staff who voluntarily reported their vaccination status and not a reflection of all staff.

“We cannot deduce that staff who have not shared voluntary vaccination tests at this time (e.g., 45 per cent at Falmouth Primary School) are not vaccinated, nor do we believe that to be the case,” McNulty said in a e-mail. “In fact, to date, the number of primary school staff who have submitted vaccination tests is closer to 65%.”

McNulty said the district remains at a higher level of testing than required by the state by asking staff to provide vaccination tests instead of survey responses. This has led to reports of significantly lower figures than reality, he said.

“We continue to convey to staff the importance of sharing their vaccination status with us, but we understand that this is voluntary and not necessary at this time,” McNulty said. “We expect our reported numbers for next month to be significantly higher.”

Waldo County has the lowest number of vaccinated school personnel, averaging 60.7 percent. In Unity-based Regional School Unit 3, only 12% of staff are vaccinated at Mt. View and only 20% at Morse Memorial School. Superintendent Charles Brown did not respond to any phone or email messages Wednesday.

Waldo County also has the highest infection rate among Maine counties.

The publication of school staff vaccination data is part of a broader strategy by the Mills administration to encourage vaccination against COVID-19. The state already publishes estimated vaccination rates for Maine students by school district and has reported vaccination rates for health care workers.

Overall, the state is a leader in vaccination rates nationwide, with only Vermont and Connecticut having the highest vaccination rates among the general population, according to the U.S. CDC. According to the Maine CDC, sixty-four percent of Maine’s 1.3 million people population is fully vaccinated and 73 percent of eligible children 12 years of age or older are fully vaccinated.

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