Monday was the day for milestones in the fight against COVID-19 in Maine. The state surpassed the million-dose mark, and locally, the Boothbay Region Y Clinic gave its 10,000th first dose.

Mike Richardson of Wiscasset had been patiently waiting for the opportunity to get his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The lifelong Mainer who works in Lewiston made his appointment through the MaineHealth call center and was excited to learn that he was the 10,000th individual to be vaccinated at the clinic.

“I needed to have an appointment either before or after work because of the long drive to the clinic,” Richardson said. “I was able to get out early today and I’m happy that I did.”

Richardson, 48, works at Valley Beverage’s warehouse in Lewiston with a mix of young and old colleagues. He said that he’s one of the last of the older workers to get the vaccine, and that the younger workers do not seem overly concerned about getting vaccinated. He said he recognizes that importance of getting the vaccine in order to turn away the impact of COVID-19 for all Mainers.

“I understand if someone has medical reasons to not be vaccinated. But if we are all in this together, then we are all in this together now, not when it’s convenient,” Richardson said. “We are not getting past COVID until we all get our shots.”

Richardson received the vaccine from Angela Russ, RN, who has delivered the most doses (1,551) since the clinic began on Jan. 25.

Those who have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine can make an appointment at www.mainehealth.org/vaccine