PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The bishop of Maine’s Roman Catholic diocese is calling on all Christians - and everyone else - to get the coronavirus vaccine when it’s available to them.
Bishop Robert Deeley of the Diocese of Portland said he has been fielding questions from Christians in the state about his perspective on the vaccine. He said Thursday he unequivocally supports vaccines for everyone.
“Our first response must be to give thanks to God for the scientific advancement and talent that helped to create such lifesaving vaccines,” Deeley said. “I have already been asked several times: should I receive the vaccine when it is available to me? My answer is a resounding yes.”
Deeley said he is concerned about enough people using the vaccine in Maine because the state has had lower than average rates of vaccine uptake in the past. That has led to resurgences of diseases such as whooping cough in the state. He said it’s imperative for Catholics to “care about the common good.”
In other virus news in Maine:
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MORE CASES
The latest average positivity rate in Maine is 3.82%. State health departments are calculating positivity rate differently across the country, but for Maine the AP calculates the rate by dividing new cases by test specimens using data from The COVID Tracking Project.
The seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Maine has risen over the past two weeks from 2.29% on Nov. 25 to 3.82% on Dec. 9.
Public health authorities in Maine have reported more than 14,800 cases of the coronavirus since the pandemic began. They’ve also reported 246 deaths.
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CHILDHOOD TRAUMA
Maine’s independent U.S. senator has introduced a proposal to collect better information about the impact of childhood trauma on long-term health.
Sen. Angus King said the coronavirus pandemic motivated him to propose the bill. He said America’s children “have experienced an unprecedented number of changes this past year, as they’ve had to break their usual routines, stay distant from friends and loved ones, and for far too many, cope with the loss of a loved one due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
King’s proposal would authorize $10 million per year for five years to help the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research and data collection efforts about childhood trauma and long-term health.
King cited studies from the National Institutes of Health that show factors such as social isolation and school closures made worse by the coronavirus pandemic could be leading to more adverse childhood events.
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