The deadline is looming for health care workers in Maine to get the COVID-19 vaccine or risk losing their job. The mandate, announced by Gov. Janet Mills in August, requires those working in health care settings, including first responders, to get the shot. The Biden administration announced in September that it would require health care facilities around the country receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding to require staff to be vaccinated.According to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 91.6% of hospital workers, 85.8% of nursing home staff and 88% of assisted living facility employees are vaccinated. Friday is the last day a health care worker could get the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine and be considered fully vaccinated by the state-imposed deadline on Oct. 29. Northern Light Health, one of the state's largest health care providers, announced Wednesday that more than 95% of their workers had gotten vaccinated. Administrators said they had made the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine available at all of their hospitals in an attempt to get as many holdouts vaccinated by the end of this week as possible. Northern Light, along with statewide groups including the Maine Hospital Association, have supported the governor's vaccine requirement and decision to not offer a testing exemption. "To provide testing in lieu of vaccine for those who are able to receive the vaccine just isn't providing the level of safety that we at northern light believe is appropriate," said Paul Bolin, Northern Light's chief human resources officer. Bolin said he expects some of the unvaccinated staff members to get the shot in the next few days to meet the state deadline, but those who do not will lose their jobs. "I think there is some number in that group who will leave health care. That's a decision that they need to make," he said. There is concern that the looming loss of unvaccinated health care workers could exacerbate long-standing staffing challenges for some providers. This week, Central Maine Medical Center announced it was redirecting some pediatric and trauma patients to other hospitals due to a lack of available staff. The hospital also plans to close its neonatal ICU at the end of this month. On Wednesday, Mills said the state is actively working with health care providers to address staffing issues, including providing funding for traveling nurses and working to get students finishing health care degrees quickly integrated into the state's workforce.