Mainers report COVID-19 vaccine appointments hard to find, but not at Auburn Mall
Auburn Mall mass clinic able to keep up with demand
Auburn Mall mass clinic able to keep up with demand
Auburn Mall mass clinic able to keep up with demand
Many Mainers have reported having a hard time getting a COVID-19 vaccine appointment or having appointments canceled.
Health officials said there are appointments available, including at the mass vaccination clinic at the Auburn Mall.
The site is administering 600 to 700 vaccines per day and walk-ins are accepted.
Rumford resident Ivan Churchill received his first shot on Friday. He said he did not want to take any more chances after getting COVID-19 in October.
"I was bad. Went to the emergency room a couple times,” Churchill said.
He said he could not breathe and could not think straight.
"For me, I was just so sick, I'm getting it,” Churchill said.
The Auburn Mall clinic is run by Central Maine Health Care. It is the longest-running mass vaccination clinic in the state. Since March the clinic has administered more than 50,000 doses.
"We don't want to turn anybody away, and we haven't turned anyone away,” said registered nurse Jennifer Jordan. "Most of our staff here are volunteers. The National Guard is our partner. There's two of us from Central Maine Health Care, but the majority of our clinic is community volunteers."
Some of the volunteers are nurses who have come out of retirement to help.
"What I'm concerned about is that even those that haven't had first doses, if it's too difficult, will they ever be able to get their first doses, and it shouldn't take weeks to find an appointment,” Jordan said.
Some Mainers have reached out to WMTW News 8 to report trouble finding a vaccine appointment near them.
Walgreens said it has had to cancel some vaccination appointments in Maine due to staffing shortages.
"We are taking a number of steps to mitigate current pharmacy staffing pressures, including hiring thousands of new pharmacy team members, offering bonuses, adjusting our appointment availability and store hours as needed,” Walgreens spokesman Fraser Engerman said.
Minot resident Tom Watson said he has chosen to come to the Auburn clinic for all his shots instead of going to a pharmacy.
"This place is super reliable. It's relatively easy to get to as long as you can get a ride over here, they'll take care of you in just a couple of minutes,” Watson said.
CMHC officials said people are coming from as far as Caribou, Calais, Machias and Bar Harbor to get their vaccinations in Auburn.
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Nirav Shah said he would like to see more pop-up vaccination clinics, similar to the one held at the McDonald’s in Waterville last month. Shah said turnout exceeded expectations.
The Maine CDC provides a list of COVID-19 vaccination sites on its website.