The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which was granted emergency use authorization by the FDA on Friday, has begun shipping to recipients in Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan announced today.
Maryland’s total allotment now includes more than 191,000 total doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Phase one of Maryland’s COVID-19 vaccination plan focuses on front line healthcare workers, staff and residents of long-term care facilities, as well as first responders. The governor’s office encourages Marylanders to visit covidlink.maryland.gov to learn more about the state’s distribution plan, review safety information about the vaccines, and get answers to frequently asked questions.
“As laid out in our statewide vaccination plan, our earliest vaccinations are focused on our front line healthcare workers, the residents and staff of our nursing homes,” said Governor Hogan in a statement. “We encourage our hospitals and local health departments to get our critical front line healthcare workers vaccinated as safely and quickly as possible.”
Front Line Healthcare Workers. Every hospital in every region of the state is receiving vaccine doses from the initial allotments of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, both two-dose vaccines. The state has based distribution to each hospital on its total number of high-risk staff as reported to the Maryland Hospital Association. Once this week’s shipments are complete, enough doses will have been distributed to vaccinate approximately 90% of the state’s front line hospital workers. State officials anticipate that the remainder of front line hospital staff will be covered by next week’s allocations.
Vaccine administration is the responsibility of each hospital.
Long-Term Care Facilities. In preparation for Phase 1A, state health officials signed up every Maryland nursing home and assisted living facility for vaccinations through the CDC’s Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program. CVS and Walgreens locations in Maryland are receiving shipments of the Pfizer vaccine for administration to nursing home residents and staff, and expect to begin vaccination clinics later this week.
Local Health Departments. Each local health department will receive an initial 100-dose shipment of the Moderna vaccine to confirm the proper functioning of the distribution chain in preparation for the remainder of Phase 1A vaccination efforts.
While shipments have begun, it may take several days for them to arrive over the course of the week.
