QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It did not seem to make any arguments at all, which was an unusual approach to take,” U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said of the 47-minute opening speech by former President Donald Trump’s attorney in the Senate impeachment trial. Collins and five other Republicans sided with Democrats yesterday to vote for the trial to continue.
What we’re watching today
A less fussy coronavirus vaccine could make it easier to send doses to Maine’s rural areas. Johnson & Johnson has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization of its one-shot vaccine. Its approval could change the course of the pandemic in Maine, health officials said yesterday.
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah said the shot, if approved, would create a “different game altogether” in the state, which is holding back on saying whom it will vaccinate once it covers older Mainers and those with comorbidities, causing frustration and criticism among interest groups.
The state has largely distributed its vaccine based on who it says is able to store it and get it into arms quickly. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines need to be kept very cold up until use, and come in packs of 975 and 100, respectively. They both require two doses 21 to 28 days apart, which has created scheduling challenges and can be a burden for Mainers who need to travel hours to get a shot.
The Johnson & Johnson candidate could change that: it stays viable in a regular refrigerator, and its single-dose status would leave more appointment times open. The company said it is 85 percent effective overall at preventing “severe” symptoms of the virus after 28 days, as opposed to the other vaccines, which both have efficacy rates above 90 percent. Those features could make it a better option for younger people less at risk of severe illness if they get sick and make it easier for independent health care providers who have felt left out of the distribution process to get doses.
Meanwhile, Mainers are starting to have more options for where they can get vaccinated. A new federal retail pharmacy program will mean people above 70 can get shots at a Walmart or Sam’s Club. The roughly 4,000 vaccines that will be allocated to the state for that program for the coming week will largely go to rural Mainers in the western, southern and mid-northern parts of the state, depending on how many of the 22 Walmarts and two Sam’s Club locations begin giving shots.
The Maine politics top 3
— “Maine had ‘strong concerns’ about hospital vaccine plans. Staff seeing no patients got shots anyway,” Jessica Piper, Bangor Daily News: “MaineHealth’s acknowledgment that it gave vaccines to employees who do not work with patients comes as demand for vaccines outpaces supply in Maine, leaving many older Mainers waiting for appointments. Maine extended vaccine eligibility to residents aged 70 and up in mid-January after initially reserving vaccines for health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities, first responders and certain workers considered essential to the state’s virus response.”
— “Vote to remove Maine statue of Supreme Court justice who upheld segregation laws comes next week,” Nick Schroeder, BDN: “The momentum to remove the statue came from the Maine Supreme Court. Because [Meville] Fuller presided over the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896, which institutionalized racial segregation and led to Jim Crow laws, his statue should not stand outside the courthouse, said Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court Acting Chief Justice Andrew Mead in an August letter on behalf of the court to the Kennebec County commissioners.”
Legislative panel to hear briefing on South Portland emissions
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection will report back to the Legislature on excess emissions from oil storage tanks in the Portland area. The Legislature ordered the agency to collect samples last year after the federal government filed a consent decree alleging Global Partners, a Massachusetts-based energy company that owns a few of the storage tanks, had been violating its emissions permit. One other company was also under investigation.
The department released its report in January, finding concerning levels of emissions but not determining their source. It will brief the Legislature’s environment committee at 10 a.m. Listen here.
Today’s Daily Brief was written by Jessica Piper and Caitlin Andrews. If you’re reading this on the BDN’s website or were forwarded it, you can sign up to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning here.
To reach us, do not reply directly to this newsletter, but contact the political team at mshepherd@bangordailynews.com, candrews@bangordailynews.com or jpiper@bangordailynews.com.
