The Mills Administration announced August 12 that it will require healthcare workers in Maine to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect the health and lives of Maine people, safeguard Maine’s healthcare capacity, and limit the spread of the virus. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), utilizing their authority under existing law to require certain vaccinations of people who work in healthcare settings, issued an emergency rule that will require healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated by October 1, 2021. This timeframe provides healthcare workers the next five weeks to receive their needed shots. Healthcare workers are defined as including any individual employed by a hospital, multi-level healthcare facility, home health agency, nursing facility, residential care facility, and intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities that is licensed by the State of Maine. The emergency rule also requires those employed by emergency medical service organizations or dental practices to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
