Federal regulators on Tuesday authorized the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11, and Maryland health officials on Wednesday authorized health providers to schedule vaccination appointments for the age group.
Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday that Maryland ordered 180,000 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and the state will begin administering vaccinations in the coming weeks.
As of Friday morning, Maryland has not reported any vaccinations in the 0-9 years old age group, state data show.
Of the initial doses of coronavirus vaccines, 61.551% of Marylanders received both doses of a two-dose vaccine, including Pfizer and Moderna, and 5.174% received a single-dose vaccine, including Johnson & Johnson.
There have been a total of 469,384 COVID-19 booster shots administered in Maryland, including 116,603 since last Friday.
Maryland has confirmed a total of 564,564 positive coronavirus cases to date and a total of 10,725 coronavirus-related deaths.
In the past week, the state’s case total has increased by 4,801 new cases and the death total has risen by 91 newly recorded COVID-19 fatalities.
Meanwhile, Maryland has recorded a total of 4,468,470 negative coronavirus tests to date.
The state’s seven-day average rate of positive COVID-19 tests currently sits at 2.92%. The average dropped below 3% on Wednesday for the first time in more than three months since reaching 2.73% on July 29.
In Maryland, 509 people are currently hospitalized with coronavirus, including 371 in acute care and 138 in intensive care.
Of the acute care COVID-19 patients, 368 are adults and three are children.
Of the COVID-19 patients in intensive care, 135 are adults and three are children.
Howard County is the only Maryland jurisdiction currently experiencing moderate levels of coronavirus transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The state’s remaining 23 jurisdictions are either experiencing substantial (11 jurisdictions) or high (12 jurisdictions) levels of coronavirus transmission.
