As Maryland ramps up its vaccination efforts, residents from across the state are descending on Baltimore’s M&T Bank stadium to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, eager for life after inoculation.
The facility opened late last month after an 18-day transformation from a football stadium to a mass vaccination site. It is one of five regional mass vaccination sites across the state.
University of Maryland Medical System coordinated with the Maryland Department of Health and Maryland Air National Guard to convert the facility. Guardsmen are supporting the work both inside and outside the stadium.
Master Sgt. David Yarborough called his service there his most rewarding deployment.
“It’s really helping Marylanders,” said Yarborough, who is helping manage the site. “I just got back from Afghanistan in October, and it’s nothing like being home and helping Marylanders get back on their feet and take off the mask and be able to hug and have parties and go to weddings. All that good stuff.”
Yarborough said he’s personally looking forward to gatherings with family and friends and “seeing people smile” since smiles have been hidden behind masks for more than year.
As of Friday, the M&T Bank site surpassed 50,000 vaccinations delivered, according to officials. Many residents said they were looking forward to getting back to normal and even back to work.
“Travel is one of the things I do for work,” Rolf Elsner said outside the stadium. “I’m a chemical engineer for W.R. Grace and doing projects all over the world and [the coronavirus] is obviously hindering some of the work.”
The Carroll County resident was waiting for his appointment with his wife, Silke Elsner. The couple secured a slot through the online portal and lauded the process for getting a place in line.
“I am hoping to go back to restaurants and especially meeting friends,” Silke Elsner said. “Right now, it is all Zooms. I would like to sit with my friends with a coffee and just chat in person.”
The shot will also bring her peace of mind.
“I work at a college, so I have student contact,” she said. “It’s much more peace of mind being in a classroom proctoring an exam knowing that I’m protected with the vaccine.”
Eileen Harris of Towson echoed the sentiment.
“There’s a lot of people getting vaccinated, and it gives me peace of mind,” she said.
Harris said she was looking forward to “being able to walk around and not worry about if you’re too close to someone or someone else is sick and they don’t have any symptoms.”
Harris said this is an important first step towards “getting back to normal,” but will still be cautious after her vaccination.
There were cases of COVID-19 at the childcare center at which she works, she said. Many clients worked in the medical field, and exposure to the virus has been a constant worry.
Rachel Lyons is most looking forward to being “able to hug our family, see our family.”
“We’ve been very strict for the last year, staying away keeping safe,” the Baltimore city resident said. “This just opens the door for more possibilities: seeing friends, seeing family, being able to go out to dinner, have a drink. That sort of thing.”
Mike Miller just wants to be able to take his mask off.
“I can’t wait to take that off,” the brewery worker at Heavy Seas beer said, referring to the mask. He’s hoping when the brewing facility staff is 95 percent vaccinated a mask requirement at work will be lifted.
He’s also hoping to get out again.
“I’d like to get back in the mix. I haven’t been in a crowd in a while. I’m a social guy,” he said.
“I’m just so excited to hug people.” Grace Hendricks said laughing.
She’s an educator from Howard County who works in Baltimore. She was also waiting for her turn to enter the facility.
“It will just make me feel more secure, especially since my parents are older,” she said. “I’ll feel more secure. I don’t think my everyday will change much, but my mental state,”
That security may come sooner than later. Gov. Larry Hogan announced last week the state is accelerating its vaccination rate and will enter Phase 2 of its vaccine distribution plan this week. About 24 percent of Marylanders have had a first dose of vaccine, according to the state’s web site.
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