The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maine edged higher on Sunday, the state reported.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said 93 patients were in hospitals statewide, two more than on Saturday. A total of 19 were in critical care units on Sunday and five were on ventilators.

The state reported 212 new cases and no new deaths from the coronavirus on Saturday. It does not typically report new cases or additional deaths on Sunday or Monday.

Since the pandemic began in 2020, the Maine CDC has recorded 236,258 cases and 2,202 deaths in the state.

In London, hospitalizations and death rates are again rising with a surge driven by the new BA.2 subvariant, according to The Associated Press. However, the number of people dying with COVID-19 in England is lower compared to earlier this year.

In Maine, doctors are somewhat wary of the BA.2 subvariant, which has begun to spread here and nationally, but because vaccinations are working well and prior infections provide some immunity, they are not expecting a major surge in hospitalizations. Those hospitalized with the virus are mostly people who have not been vaccinated, doctors have said.

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Meanwhile the number of Mainers fully vaccinated has shot past the 1 million mark, with the numbers growing every day.

On Sunday the Maine CDC reported that 1,004,046 of Maine’s 1.34 million population have been fully vaccinated, or 74.96 percent, a considerably better rate than the nation as a whole. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tweeted on Friday that 65.6 percent of the country’s population have been fully vaccinated. Health officials consider the fully vaccinated to be those who have had two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one of the J & J.

The number of Mainers who have received a booster shot is now 594,360.

Among those eligible to be vaccinated – 5 years and older – the fully vaccinated tally is 78.4 percent.

Cumberland County, the most populous in Maine, continues to be the most vaccinated, with 85.5 percent of its residents having gotten a shot. Vaccination rates in other counties include Androscoggin, 67.33 percent; York, 73.09, percent; and Somerset, with the lowest rate at 61.07 percent. But all of those numbers are rising.

All 16 Maine counties are considered at low risk for COVID-19 transmission, which means indoor masking recommendations have been lifted statewide. The federal government has authorized a second booster shot for those 50 and older with health concerns, as well as for those 65 and older.

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