News

Maine’s largest health system to require staff vaccinations

Photo: 560 WGAN Newsradio


PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine’s largest healthcare system is going to make COVID-19 vaccinations a requirement for employment, officials said Tuesday.

MaineHealth, parent of Maine Medical Center, becomes the largest health care provider to require all workers to be vaccinated, joining dozens of hospitals and health systems across the country.

Dr. Dora-Anne Mills, chief health improvement officer of MaineHealth, said it’s “paramount that all care team members be vaccinated.”

“The vaccines are very effective, and are preventing hospitalizations and health complications with COVID-19. In addition, the vaccines are proven safe — we have a full year of data from the clinical trials and almost 200 million Americans have received a COVID-19 vaccination,” she said.

MaineHealth becomes the first system with a hard deadline for staffers to be vaccinated. The new policy goes into effect on Oct. 1, healthcare officials said. Nearly 84% of workers had been vaccinated as of late last month.

The announcement came a day after another large healthcare network, Northern Light Health, announced that staff must be vaccinated against COVID-19 once the vaccines are fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Last week, Millinocket Regional Hospital became the first to announce a vaccination requirement. It’s requiring staff to be fully vaccinated with either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines within six weeks of final FDA approval.

Latest Headlines

6 hours ago in Sports, Trending

IOC and Saudi Arabia cancel their 12-year deal to host video gaming Esports Olympics in Riyadh

FILE -Olympic Rings are pictured in front of The Olympic House, headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the opening of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, March 28, 2023. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP, File)

The IOC and Saudi Arabia have canceled their 12-year deal to host the video gaming Esports Olympics in Riyadh in a rare setback for a sports project backed by the oil-rich kingdom.

6 hours ago in National, Trending

Banks and retailers run short on pennies as the US Mint stops making them

A sign in a Kwik Trip store shows the store will no longer be using pennies to give change, on Oct. 23, 2025, in Yorkville, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

President Donald Trump's decision to stop producing the penny earlier this year is starting to have real implications for the nation's commerce.

6 hours ago in Music, Trending

Universal Music and AI song generator Udio settle lawsuit and partner on new AI music platform

FILE - Taylor Swift arrives at the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the $20 billion music streaming industry. Record labels accuse the platforms of exploiting the recorded works of artists without compensating them.

6 hours ago in Trending, World

5 more jewel heist arrests made as Louvre probe deepens

People tour the courtyard of Le Louvre museum in the rain Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

The prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, told RTL radio that one of the detainees is suspected of being part of the four-person team that robbed the Louvre's Apollo Gallery in broad daylight on Oct. 19.

6 hours ago in Lifestyle, Trending

How Americans feel about changing the clocks, according to a new AP-NORC poll

FILE - Custodian Ray Keen inspects a clock face before changing the time on the 100-year-old clock atop the Clay County Courthouse March 8, 2014, in Clay Center, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Only 12% of U.S. adults favor the current system of daylight saving time, which has people in most states changing the clocks twice a year, according to a new AP-NORC poll, while 47% are opposed and 40% are neutral.