Residents and staff of Gorham House and The Inn at Village Square, two Gorham long-time care facilities, have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. These facilities have partnered with pharmacies which are dispensing one-third of the vaccines allocated for Maine residents as part of Phase 1A, a category which also includes health care workers.
Staff from Walgreens pharmacy began vaccinating Gorham House residents and staff on January 5. Ninety-nine percent of residents and at least 70% of staff have received the Pfizer vaccine, according to Michelle Belhumeur, executive director. Walgreens will return twice to administer second shots and vaccinate more staff.
Photo credit Gorham HouseAllison Shea, RN Infection Preventionist Nurse and Gorham House Resident Mary Ann Gagnon receive their first dose.
Since the start of the pandemic, Gorham House has had three COVID-19 cases, all staff, Belhumeur reported last week. “We still are not permitting visitors from outside,” she said, “but the staff is offering bingo and crafts in an area where masked residents can stay six feet apart, and we work with them to visit with family by Portal.”
The Inn at Village Square, an assisted-living facility, is partnering with Bangor Drug. Director Sara Forgione said pharmacy staff gave the first round of the Moderna vaccine on January 12. “The vast majority of residents and staff have agreed to be vaccinated,” she said, “and we will get second doses in four weeks.” The Inn is testing staff and residents weekly. “We had some positive cases in December, but currently have no positive cases,” she said.
At the regular January Town Council meeting, Darryl Wright, Gorham School Committee chair, reported that as of January 4, “Gorham Schools have had a total of 28 positive cases of COVID-19 since schools were reopened back in September. All 28 of these originated outside of our schools.” He said, “This data clearly indicates that our safety protocols are working and that our schools are safe environments.”
Although plans are still in flux, Gorham residents aged 70 and older, as well adults with high-risk medical conditions, can expect vaccination to begin by February, according to Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Essential frontline workers are also in this 1B group. Shah announced that plans are underway for high-volume vaccination sites and advanced registration. “Constraints are due to supply of vaccine, not so much as our ability to get it out,” he said.
Data from the CDC website posted on January 10 showed that there have been 497 COVID-19 cases in the Gorham Zip Code since March, just under 3% of 17859 residents. In both Windham and Westbrook Zip Codes slightly higher percentages of their populations have tested positive.