WESTBROOK, Maine — Finding a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination could take some phone calls and web searches to nail down a location offering them.
Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah praised walk-in vaccinations as more convenient for people who struggle to get an appointment for the vaccine, or for people who have limited control over their schedule to take time off of work to get the shot.
"Being able to swing by somewhere during their lunch break or during work or after work may literally mean the difference between getting vaccinated and not getting vaccinated," Shah said during a media briefing on April 27. "For that group, which is a lot of Maine people, walk-in hours are critical."
The Maine CDC does not keep a list of the locations offering walk-in shots, but it does note the FEMA mobile vaccine unit is offering "drop-in" vaccinations.
The CDC does keep a list of locations offering the shot in general, many of which require an appointment.
Shah advised people looking for walk-in offerings to call clinics near them for information. He said that often, local clinics start offering walk-ins before the CDC can find out about them.
"I encourage that," Shah said during Tuesday's briefing. "I don't want them to wait for approval or notification from me. We're going to do our best to keep our website updated with the latest information, but if you've got questions, the safe thing to do is reach out to the site itself."
The clinic at the Westbrook Community Center is offering walk-in vaccinations for the rest of this week, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fire Chief Andy Turcotte said they have been averaging about 20-30 shots in arms per day.
"Even if we get 20 or 30 per day shots in arms, that's better than nothing," said Chief Turcotte.
He said he has taken on a bit of a marketing role, posting about the clinic on the city's social media pages, including the City of Westbrook, Westbrook Police, and Fire Department's Facebook pages. He said he also reached out to the city's largest employers, such as IDEXX and Sappi paper mill, to let people know about the available walk-ins.
"We want to be able to reach those individuals in those communities that may not have immediate access to clinics or they may not know about it," Turcotte said. "And a lot of it is word of mouth as well. That's very important."
Now, Turcotte is weighing the options: keep the clinic open and staffed daily despite low numbers, or close it down and offer shots on a limited basis, despite half the state not being vaccinated.
"We're going to take a hard look at that," Turcotte said. "[Getting vaccinated is] not just about you as an individual, we have a social obligation to those around us as well."
Turcotte said he is considering closing down the clinic and then re-opening to give second doses to those who need them.
Click here for our running list of walk-in vaccinations, which we update as new sites are announced.