The state reported a steady number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention listed a total of 111 hospitalizations, including 23 in critical care units and three on ventilators. That’s one more than the day before, but less than last week, when hospital patients with the virus numbered 130 on Tuesday and 125 on Thursday.

While in recent days hospitalizations have decreased, the numbers are higher than a year ago, likely due to the result of omicron subvariants that are more contagious than previous strains.

Meanwhile, when compared to the nation, more Mainers have been vaccinated, which doctors say is the best protection from getting seriously ill.

Out of the Maine’s 1.34 million population, 74.62 percent of residents had been fully vaccinated as of Saturday, according to the state, compared to the national rate of 67 percent provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since federal regulators authorized the first COVID-19 shots for infants and preschoolers last month, the number of vaccinated Maine preschoolers has been growing.

The Maine CDC logged 2,762 children age 4 and younger who had received their first shot as of Saturday. That number has jumped significantly in the last two weeks, when 686 children in that age group received their first shot.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending all eligible children get the COVID vaccine.

Since the pandemic began, Maine has recorded 271,596 cases and 2,461 deaths, the state reported Saturday. The Maine CDC does not typically report new cases of the virus and additional deaths on Sundays and Mondays.

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