(AP) A federal program is providing 27 rural health clinics in Maine with more than $1.3 million to help with vaccination efforts.

The money is through the Rural Health Clinic Vaccine Confidence program.

“This funding will give trusted messengers in rural communities the tools they need to counsel patients on how COVID-19 vaccines can help protect them and their loved ones,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.

Cases of the virus are rising in Maine as they are around the country.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday that there have been more than 69,000 positive cases of the virus and 897 deaths in Maine.

About 68 percent of the state’s eligible population is fully vaccinated against coronavirus.