Three more mass vaccination sites to open in Maryland, except not in Montgomery County

Debate over having mass vaccination site in Montgomery County

Should the state place a COVID-19 mass vaccination site in Montgomery County? County officials seem to think so. However, Governor Larry Hogan did not address the possibility during Tuesday’s press conference.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Should the state place a COVID-19 mass vaccination site in Montgomery County? County officials seem to think so. However, Governor Larry Hogan did not address the possibility during Tuesday’s press conference.

Currently, there are three mass vaccination sites open in the state, including one in Prince George’s County at Six Flags America.

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A fourth site is opening up on Thursday in Southern Maryland at the Blue Crabs’ Stadium. Another vaccination site is expected to be running in Salisbury by March 18. In Western Maryland, a mass vaccination site will be operational in Hagerstown by the end of the month.

Hogan said that is about one site in every region of the state that can administer thousands of shots a day.

"Expanding the hours, capacity, volume, and the number of mass vaccination sites is all contingent on future increases of supply from the federal government," said Hogan.

Montgomery County leaders said the most populous jurisdiction in the state with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths and the second-highest number of cases deserves a mass vaccination site too. Montgomery County Council President Tom Hucker said the county should have been the first place for a mass vaccination site.

"We have the second-highest number of seniors, we are the most diverse jurisdiction in the state, one of the most diverse in the entire nation and yet instead of bringing the doses to where the public is and where the cases are in Montgomery County, the Governor has stood up now six different sites around the state – all of them in smaller counties," said Hucker.

He adds the current vaccine rollout in Maryland is chaotic, disorganized, and inequitable and Montgomery County needs more doses of the vaccine.

Hogan said officials are in active discussion with several other counties that have "expressed interest in partnering on additional state mass vaccination sites."

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Hucker told FOX 5’s Sierra Fox the county has offered multiple sites, including the Agricultural Fairgrounds and Montgomery College Germantown campus, and the state continues to reject the offer.

However, Governor Hogan’s Office said, "This is completely false. We are in active discussions with the county about this possibility. In addition, there is already one site in the Capital Region that serves Montgomery County residents every day."