PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine’s attorney general has issued a warning to health care providers in the state against administering COVID-19 vaccines to ineligible people.

Attorney General Aaron Frey said Tuesday he issued the advisory in response to reports of improper administration of the vaccines. Officials in Maine, including Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, recently chastised MaineHealth for providing coronavirus vaccinations to out-of-state consultants hired to fight an effort to unionize nurses.

MaineHealth has called its decision to vaccinate the consultants a mistake. Frey said providers are required to follow the state’s protocols about who is eligible for the vaccine. Maine is still in an early stage of rolling out the coronavirus vaccine and is focusing on older residents and health care providers.

“The Office of the Maine Attorney General will consider seeking legal and administrative sanctions against providers who administer the COVID-19 vaccine to persons who do not meet applicable eligibility criteria,” Frey said.

Frey said providers who ignore the state’s protocols risk hurting the public trust in the response to the pandemic.