Maryland to prioritize vaccine appointments for communities near mass vaccination sites

Maryland’s mass vaccination sites will set aside some vaccine appointments for people in the communities where the sites are located and other nearby jurisdictions, Gov. Larry Hogan announced on Monday.

M&T Bank Stadium will prioritize at least 2,100 appointments per week for residents of Baltimore City. The mass vaccination site at Six Flags America set aside the same amount each week for Prince George’s County residents.

Vaccine appointments will be “divided equitably by population” at the other mass vaccination sites, with at least 2,100 weekly appointments split among residents of Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary’s counties at Regency Furniture Stadium; 2,100 more appointments at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center divided among residents of Wicomico, Worcester, Somerset, and Dorchester counties; and 2,100 more prioritized for residents of Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties at Hagerstown Premium Outlets.

Wicomico Youth and Civic Center is set to open as a mass vaccination site on March 18, while the mass vaccination site at the Hagerstown Premium Outlets will open on March 25.

“As we continue to ramp up the capacity of our mass vaccination sites, we are also focusing on ensuring equitable access for Marylanders,” said Governor Hogan. “Using both our call center and text-based outreach, we are working with local health departments to get shots into arms of our most vulnerable populations.”

The mass vaccination site at the Baltimore Convention Center Field Hospital will also prioritize vaccines for residents of six underserved ZIP codes in Baltimore City. State officials said the ZIP codes were selected based on communities that have experienced disproportionately high COVID-19 infection rates, as well as other social factors that impact health outcomes, including high levels of unemployment and poverty.

Local leaders have criticized the state’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, calling the system inequitable for Black and Brown residents.

In February, Hogan said Baltimore City had received more vaccine doses than it was “entitled to.”

But Mayor Brandon Scott has repeatedly pushed back against Hogan, recently describing comments from the governor as “a Jedi mind trick” meant to distract people from the state’s “completely inequitable vaccine distribution process.”

The Baltimore Sun reported that almost 75% of the vaccine doses that were sent to Baltimore City through February went to the city’s 11 major hospitals. Those hospitals prioritized vaccines for its employees, many of whom live do not live in Baltimore.

State officials on Monday reported that 697,800 Marylanders are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after receiving either a single-dose vaccine or both doses of a two-dose vaccine.

Of those people, about 67.5% are white and about 18% are Black. But Black people make up about 31.1%, while white people make up about 58.5%, according to census data.

Maryland on Saturday launched a new platform for Marylanders eligible to be vaccinated under Phase 1A-C of the state’s vaccine distribution plan to pre-register to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at one of the state’s mass vaccination sites. People can pre-register by going online to covidvax.maryland.gov or by calling 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

Marylanders who pre-register will be notified once an appointment is available. They will also be able to verify their pre-registration status and reserve an appointment.