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Maryland to expand vaccine eligibility
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced a timeline Thursday to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to every Marylander over the age of 16 before May 1.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced a timeline Thursday to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to every Marylander over the age of 16 before May 1.
Phase 2A will begin next Tuesday and includes Marylanders 60 years of age and older. Those individuals can begin pre-registering for the vaccine starting today.
READ MORE: Maryland launches new COVID vaccine preregistration website
Phase 2B will begin March 30 and includes all Marylanders age 16 and older with underlying medical conditions.
Phase 2C will begin April 13 and includes all Marylanders age 55 and older and essential workers in critical industries such as construction, food services, utilities, financial services, IT and more.
Phase 3 will begin no later than April 27 and includes every Marylander over the age of 16.
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Gov. Hogan stressed that individuals who are currently eligible in Phase 1 will continue to be prioritized.
"With the announcement of this plan, every single Marylander now knows when they will become eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine," Gov. Hogan says. "Our goal throughout this process remains the same: we do not want to leave any Marylander behind."
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Maryland Governor Larry Hogan offers a major announcement in the vaccination campaign
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan made a major announcement on Thursday regarding the state's vaccination campaign.
Gov. Hogan says Maryland has passed 2 million vaccines administered, meaning nearly 25% of Marylanders have been vaccinated and 65% of all Marylanders age 65 and older have been vaccinated.
He also says Maryland is capable of administering 100,000 shots per day between the different distribution points across the state.
"I want to ask all Marylanders to please get vaccinated when it is your turn," Gov. Hogan says.
READ MORE: 64% of Marylanders say they’ll get vaccine ‘as soon as possible’, some still hesitant
A sixth mass vaccination site will open next Thursday in Western Maryland. More details about the facility will be announced in the coming days.
Maryland will launch a pilot program this week to provide vaccines to primary care facilities throughout the state so vaccines can be administered directly to those patients. The program will begin with 37 practices that were chosen based on their connection to largely African American and Hispanic communities.
READ MORE: Maryland lays out plan to address vaccine equity in the state
Maryland is also launching mobile clinics to better serve areas with less geographic access to vaccination sites. The units will be provided by the Maryland School of Nursing and will be staffed by the Maryland National Guard. They will have the capability to administer between 60 and 160 vaccines per mission.
Check with your local jurisdiction to confirm whether or not they’ll also open pre-registration along with the state of Maryland.
Charles County’s Health Department confirmed to FOX 5 that they will accept those aged 60 and over pre-registration locally as well — and like the state, they will still prioritize Phases 1A, 1B and 1C.
Frederick County officials tweeted that they are still vaccinating 1A, 1B and 1C.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich did not provide exact guidance in his tweet Thursday calling for more vaccines and a mass vaccination site.
A spokesperson for the county executive told FOX 5 they are reviewing the governor’s plans now.