MAINE, N.Y. — Child protective service workers have been working throughout the pandemic to be sure Maine children who are in Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) custody are safe, but they say they're doing so without proper personal protective equipment (PPE) or access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
The caseworkers who spoke to NEWS CENTER Maine wanted to remain anonymous for fear of backlash at work, but say they are going everywhere police officers go, including people's homes, hospitals, hotel rooms if a child is staying there, etc.
Caseworkers said that some smaller agencies are getting the vaccine, but state agencies aren't.
"How are you getting the shot when you don't see clients face to face? We see clients face to face, weekly," one caseworker said.
DHHS caseworkers said they got hazard pay during the pandemic because they were essential.
"Why did we get hazardous pay but now we don't qualify for the shot?" one caseworker said.
"As Governor Mills repeatedly has said, our goal with the vaccines [is] to save people's lives," DHHS commissioner Jeanne Lambrew said in Tuesday's Maine CDC briefing.
Lambrew added that the state is focusing its vaccine distribution on those who are 70 and older.
"We just keep advocating let's get them that vaccine as soon as possible," Dean Seaffieri, President of the Maine Service Employees Association said.
The association represents DHHS caseworkers who are concerned about going into people's homes without the COVID-19 vaccine.
"That workforce is just invaluable to the state of Maine," Lambrew said of these caseworkers. "We are hopeful that the inadequate supply will soon open up in that case we will rapidly vaccinate all of those individuals."
"I really do think they're trying to get it out there, we just need more of it," Seaffieri added.
So far, Maine has vaccinated 43 percent of people age 70 and older and will soon focus on people between 65-69.
Watch the Tuesday coronavirus briefing here: