Maryland officials are preparing to open at least six mass vaccination sites to increase vaccine access across the state, Gov. Larry Hogan announced on Tuesday.
Hogan also said he is reassigning hundreds of Maryland National Guard members, who were protecting Washington, D.C. following the Jan. 6 insurrection, to assist with Maryland’s vaccination campaign.
As part of that reassignment, Maryland National Guard members will help the Maryland Department of Health to open six mass vaccination sites.
The state will open sites at Six Flags America in Prince George’s County and the Baltimore Convention Center by Feb. 5. M&T Bank Stadium is also among the planned site locations.
The state is finalizing sites on the Eastern Shore, western Maryland and southern Maryland.
On Monday, Maryland began Phase 1C of its vaccination plan, opening vaccine eligibility to Marylanders age 65-74 and certain essential workers.
Hogan on Tuesday expanded the scope of the Phase 1C group to include immunocompromised individuals.
More pharmacies across Maryland will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations, including additional Giant, Martin’s, Walmart, Safeway and Rite Aid stores.
To find a coronavirus vaccination clinic nearby, visit covidvax.maryland.gov.
Maryland has administered a total of at least 396,661 doses of the coronavirus vaccine as of Tuesday morning, including 348,026 first vaccine doses and 48,635 second vaccine doses. The 7-day average of doses administered is 18,715—an increase of 54% over the last two weeks.
The state has distributed a total of at least 667,275 doses, which make up about 5.8% of the 12 million doses needed to provide two doses to each of Maryland’s approximately 6 million residents.
Hogan acknowledged that there are not enough doses to vaccinate the Marylanders who are currently eligible. Federal guidelines have increased eligibility to include two million Marylanders, but the state receives only about 10,000 doses per day from the federal government.
Hogan hopes that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate could help speed up vaccination nationwide if it is approved. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which is undergoing a clinical trial, would be administered as one dose instead of the current two doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines for maximum effectiveness.
Hogan added that the pharmaceutical company Emergent BioSolutions, which is headquartered in Gaithersburg and has locations in Baltimore, already has an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to manufacture its vaccine.
Dr. David Marcozzi, the COVID-19 incident commander for the University of Maryland Medical System, said that the current vaccines are effective against a more contagious coronavirus variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom. Marcozzi added that the variant may be the predominant strain of coronavirus in the United States by March.
Hogan last week urged school systems to plan to return to in-person learning by March, and he threatened legal action against jurisdictions that didn’t heed his words.
On Tuesday, Hogan said the reopening of schools is “not contingent on waiting until every teacher gets vaccinated.”
“Every teacher doesn’t have to go back to school. If people don’t want to put their kids back in school,” he said. “But certain kids need an opportunity at least to get an education after a year of not getting one.”
