STATE

New Hampshire COVID vaccine eligibility opening to non-residents

Staff and wire report
news@seacoastonline.com

New Hampshire's access to COVID-19 vaccine appointments is opening to out-of-state residents.

Gov. Chris Sununu previously announced all people 16 or older regardless of residency will be eligible beginning Monday, April 19.

Appointments can be made starting Monday at vaccines.nh.gov using the state's Vaccine & Immunization Network Interface (VINI), or by calling 211. All residents of the state age 16 and up became eligible earlier.

Sununu's announcement means out-of-state college students will be among those who become eligible Monday. The University of New Hampshire is immediately taking advantage, holding a vaccine clinic Monday for out-of-state students who were not eligible for the school's first vaccine clinic earlier in the month. UNH officials have said Monday's clinic will have a "limited" supply with not enough doses for all the out-of-state students who make up more than half the student body.

More:UNH's COVID vaccine doses 'limited' for out-of-state student clinics

University of New Hampshire nursing students are stationed at the Whittemore Center during the first of a two-day vaccination efforts for in-state students, faculty and staff Thursday, April 8, 2021. UNH will hold a vaccine clinic for out-of-state students Monday, April 19, the first day they are eligible per Gov. Chris Sununu's policy.

UNH out-of-state students who don't get appointments on campus, like all other non-residents, can sign up for vaccine appointments at locations around the state at vaccines.nh.gov, starting Monday.

More:UNH, colleges divided over requiring student vaccinations

New Hampshire health officials have reported more than 300,000 residents are fully vaccinated (about 25%) and more than 600,000 people have received at least one dose.

The numbers

New Hampshire health officials reported 370 new positive test results for COVID-19 Saturday, giving the state 3,254 active cases and a pandemic total of 91,279.

Dover had 99 active cases as of Saturday's report, most in the greater Seacoast, followed by Rochester (83), Durham (66), Portsmouth (60), Somersworth (46), Exeter (33), Hampton (33), Barrington (28) and Newmarket (23).

The state's death toll remained 1,266 (1.39% of all cases) with 882 associated with long-term care facilities (69.7% of all deaths).

The new cases included 61 people under age 18. The rest are adults with 48% female and 52% male. They reside in Rockingham (68), Strafford (38), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (37), Merrimack (36), Coos (28), Grafton (24), Belknap (21), Cheshire (21), Carroll (10), and Sullivan (5) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (31) and Nashua (22). The county of residence was being determined for 29 new cases.

There were 127 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in New Hampshire as of Saturday's report and a pandemic total of 1,278 (1.4% of all cases).

The number of people confirmed as recovered was 86,759 (95% of all cases).

Maine COVID vaccine milestone

Half of Maine’s population of age 16 and up has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Janet Mills said Sunday.

That amount includes 38% of eligible residents who received their final dose, Mills said in a news release.

“We’re now approaching 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered into the arms of Maine people, a remarkable achievement made possible through our collaboration with health care providers, volunteers, and countless others throughout the state,” said Jeanne Lambrew, commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. “

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported Sunday that the state has been the site of more than 57,000 cases of the virus and 765 deaths, including one new one, and more than 400 infections.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.