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Vaccine distribution challenges in Prince George’s County
On Tuesday, Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said due to the limited supplies, a pre-registration plan form must be filled out online to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
LANDOVER, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - If you made an appointment to get vaccinated in Prince George’s County, you might have to reschedule.
On Tuesday, Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said due to the limited supplies, a pre-registration plan form must be filled out online. This move comes after people in neighboring counties, like Montgomery, crossed lines to get the shot.
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Prince George’s County is facing challenges with a slow start to rolling out the vaccine– however, Alsobrooks hopes opening up larger sites like the Sports & Learning Complex in Landover will help get more shots in arms.
But some residents here are skeptical.
"They generally take five to six years before a vaccine is good... and they test and test. This was too quick. This is less than a year," William Marshall told FOX 5's Sierra Fox.
Meanwhile, Louise Jefferson said, "I am anxious and ready to sign up and I have friends who are anxious and ready to sign up. No hesitation."
Prince George’s County is among one of the nation’s wealthiest Black communities yet it leads the state with the most coronavirus cases – more than 63,000 people have tested positive.
Alsobrooks said a majority of the people who can now get vaccinated in the current phase are African American.
Prince George’s County also has the largest group of seniors 75 years and older in the state of Maryland.
When FOX 5's Sierra Fox asked Alsobrooks about what she’s doing about the health equity in the county, she said it is a huge issue and COVID-19 is giving them a renewed opportunity to fix that.
"What are we doing? A whole host of things to make sure our residents don’t suffer from those comorbidities that we saw happen during COVID-19. They were exposed in really amazing ways during the pandemic. We’re working to make sure that we decrease grossers who are coming into the county, we have a whole campaign now against diabetes to work to help residents who have become sick with diabetes, but eliminating food desserts is a huge thing," said Alsobrooks.
A new mass vaccination site will open up next week in the southern section of the county to ramp up vaccine distribution.
This is the pre-registration form online for anyone who needs to sign up for the vaccine: COVID-19 Vaccination Form
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