Monday, Governor Hogan announced the expansion and acceleration of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to include all adult Marylanders. The decision came amidst an increase in COVID-19 infections across the State and would raise the eligibility age for Marylanders to 16 years and over starting this Tuesday (Marylanders aged 16 and older will be eligible to schedule appointments through all providers starting on April 12). The Governor emphasized that vaccinating large numbers of people will be key to resuming many normal activities amongst the spread of more contagious strains of the virus, saying
”We are literally in a race between the vaccines and these new, highly transmissible variants, which are driving an increase in new infections and hospitalizations, particularly among younger people in states across the country”.
This follows the announcement last Friday, in which the state launched a no-appointment walk-up line at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center site. Beginning this Tuesday, a no-appointment walk-up line is set to open at the Hagerstown Premium Outlets site, and additional no-appointment walk-up lines will be announced as they open. The Governor reiterated that Marylanders should know that the process for the no-appointment lines will take longer, and that there is no guarantee of receiving a vaccine at this time.
The state is also to add seven additional mass vaccination sites later this month. Three are set to open this week at the Greenbelt Metro Station, Montgomery College in Germantown, and the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, and two additional sites are scheduled to open the week of April 12 at Frederick Community College and the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The state is working to open both the Ripken Stadium in and The Mall in Columbia site the following week.
Hogan expressed his enthusiasm in announcing another early set of acceleration of vaccine eligibility phases, saying
“Getting more people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can is our absolute best defense against these variants, and it is the best way to win the long war against this deadly virus”.
Watch the Governor’s address
View the slides from today’s press conference
For Further Reading:
