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Volume 133Number 8

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INDEXINDEX

MST

MENA ELTAHIR | Junior at Deering High School says: “Right now, (remote learning) seems like the safest option.”

KIMBERLY COUGH | Senior at Baxter Academy in Portland

ZEINAB HASSAN | Sophomore at Casco Bay High School in Portland

JOHN PEELEN | Senior at Falmouth High School

ANJA FRANCK | Sophomore at Deering High School in Portland

THOMAS CHANEY | Senior at South Portland High School

MAKENNA MONAGHAN | Senior at Brunswick High School

P H O T O S B Y G R E G O R Y R E C / S T A F F P H O T O G R A P H E R

By RACHEL OHMStaff Writer

Educators across Maine are trying to figure out what a return to class will look like this fall since the state issued guidance allowing all schools to open as long as they meet a host of safety measures designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic will radically alter the face of education this year. While the state’s color-coded system says, for now, that all 16 counties are “green” – meaning it’s safe for students to return to school – school dis-tricts don’t have to open everything back up if they don’t believe they can do so safely. Most districts are considering whether to bring all students back to the classroom, have them learn remotely, or try something in between, where students go to school two days a week and learn from home the rest.

Even if they go back to classrooms, things won’t be the same. Teachers and students will wear masks all day long. Desks will be spaced farther apart. The days of eating lunch at crowded cafeteria tables are over. Fall sports are teetering on the edge of cancellation. Who knows whether there will be choral perfor-mances or school plays.

We asked high school students how they are feeling about returning to school, whether they think classes should be in person, and how easy it will be for schools to enforce the safety requirements the Department of Edu-cation is asking all districts to adhere to.

Students said they are excited to see teach-ers and friends, and get back to classes and extracurriculars. But while they are longing to be back in the classrooms and hallways, they expressed skepticism about how well their schools will be able to regulate mask wearing and social distancing.

‘I JUST HOPE WE DO IT THE RIGHT WAY’We asked local high school students to share their thoughts about a coming academic year fraught with COVID-19 concerns.

REOPENING SCHOOLS

IN THEIR OWN WORDS | Pages A8-9

By KEVIN MILLERStaff Writer

As scientists worldwide sprint to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in record time, local doctors and public health officials are plan-ning another race with enormous implications: quickly distribut-ing doses to – and injected into – Maine’s dispersed population.

Vaccinating for COVID-19 is ex-pected to be the largest mass-im-

munization campaign in history. But success or failure depends both on the effectiveness of the vaccine and convincing enough people to get inoculated to achieve “herd immunity.”

That will require an extensive public education campaign about

the safety and necessity of the vaccine but also to overcome concerns, among some, that the Trump White House pressured researchers to rush a vaccine during an election year.

In Maine, the vaccination push could be complicated by the

state’s spotty access to health care and a population segment already skeptical of decades-old vaccines, never mind one produced by “Op-eration Warp Speed.”

“The greatest challenge across the U.S. is making sure our com-munities know the vaccine is safe,

has been fully tested and has good efficacy,” said Kathy Knight, di-rector of the Center for Emergen-cy Preparedness at Brewer-based Northern Light Health. “There are a lot of folks out there who are concerned because, on the news, there is a lot of information about the process having moved more rapidly than normal.”

Maine faces hurdles in coming campaign to vaccinateSuccess in a mass-inoculation effort to achieve ‘herd immunity’ to COVID-19 depends on communicating its efficacy and overcoming ‘vaccine hesitancy.’

By PETER McGUIREStaff Writer

The bulk of Maine’s commer-cial sector has been reopened for months, but many small-business owners say they are hanging on for dear life amid low consumer demand, tough health and safety restrictions and the existential threat of a viral resurgence that has ravaged other states.

While companies report some

sales stability, spending at con-tact-intensive businesses is far below what it should be, and some worry their very survival is at risk in poor economic conditions that show no sign of improving soon.

“It all comes down to the fact that the virus itself is still spread-ing in the country in a way that it is hard to do business and makes

Doors open, but crisis lingers for state’s small-business sectorCompanies report reduced sales and low customer counts as commerce continues to feel the effects of the pandemic.

Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Owner Jason Dodge, second from left, says summer business at Momentum barbershop in Portland is down by 40 percent.

WEATHER:

★★★

$3.00 / $3.30 outside Cumberland,

Sagadahoc, York, Knox and Lincoln counties

Treat yourself with our cool guide to icy refreshments / FOOD & DINING, F1

Mostly sunny, highs reach 85DETAILS, B8

SHIPYARD, STRIKING UNION REACH TENTATIVE DEAL / B1

Please see VACCINE, Page A13

Please see COMMERCE, Page A14