On March 2, Governor Hogan announced a series of updates regarding mass vaccination and the COVID response. In his press conference, the Governor praised the current rate of vaccine rollout, saying that
“the pace of daily vaccination is hitting a new high every day, a third safe and effective vaccine is now available, a next potential fourth vaccine is in Phase 3 clinical trials, which is also being made right here in Maryland at Novavax in Gaithersburg…we are using every tool at our disposal to get shots into arms, and we will not rest until a vaccine is available to every Marylander who wants one, so that we can bring this pandemic to an end once and for all.”
Governor Hogan also announced that the former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, will serve as a senior adviser for Maryland’s COVID-19 response. The cofounder of the University of Maryland’s Institute of Human Virology, Redfield previously ran the CDC under the Trump administration from 2018 to 2021. He is now set to advise the Governor on a range of public health matters, including the vaccine rollout, the emergence of new COVID variants, and how to safely reopen the state.
By the end of March, the state will have at least one mass vaccination site open in each region of the state that is capable of administering a high volume of shots every day, including Southern Maryland (at Regency Furniture Stadium on Thursday, March 4), Eastern Shore (at Wicomico Youth & Civic Center by Thursday, March 18), Western Maryland (at the Hagerstown Premium Outlets by the end of the month), and Baltimore City (the M&T Bank Stadium mass vaccination site will ramp up to 2,000 shots per day, and the Baltimore Convention Center site will ramp up to more than 1,000 shots per day). The state is currently in active discussions with additional counties that have expressed an interest in hosting a mass vaccination site, though further expansion will depend upon vaccine supply from the federal government.
Additionally, Maryland is receiving an initial allocation of approximately 50,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be deployed across the state this week, including to mass vaccination sites, hospitals, community health centers, pharmacies, and local health departments. However, the Governor added that he has been informed by federal officials that after this allocation there will be about a two-week hiatus before more doses can be sent.
Watch today’s press conference.
View the slides from today’s press conference
For Further Reading:
