Hundreds Of Anne Arundel First Responders Get Coronavirus Vaccine

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Anne Arundel County vaccinated 248 first responders on Wednesday. This was the county's first mass coronavirus vaccination clinic for crew members.

The first responders came from the:

• Anne Arundel County Fire Department
• Annapolis Fire Department
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Fire & Rescue Department

Anne Arundel County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman also got the shot.

"Dr. Kalyanaraman got the vaccine to show it is safe to do," the Anne Arundel County Department of Health said on Facebook. "With a thumbs up, he is sharing his experience."

All the participants got the Moderna vaccine, which requires two doses. They will get their second shot in 28 days.

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Vaccines are starting to trickle into Maryland. The state tallies the number of people who have gotten the immunization on this website.

The data are reported by region, not by county. Anne Arundel County is part of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, which also includes these places:

• Baltimore City
• Baltimore County
• Carroll County
• Harford County
• Howard County

So far, 25,948 people have gotten their first shot in this area. That's 0.94 percent of the population.

It's going to be a while before the vaccine has widespread circulation. The rollout will happen in four phases: 1A, 1B, 2 and 3.

Medical frontliners will be the first to get the inoculation in stage 1A. First responders and folks in long-term care facilities are also at the top of the list.

This means residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted living centers will be included in the initial wave. Infections tend to spread rapidly in these congregate living spaces.

After the 800,000 people in group 1A are vaccinated, the state will enter phase 1B. This allows other high-risk residents to get their shots.

Marylanders with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease or heart conditions can get vaccinated during this period. Adults living in other shared homes are the last residents eligible in this round.

Stage 2 opens the door to employees in critical fields. Marylanders working in education, child care, transit and utilities are among those eligible in the second portion of immunization.

The remaining residents can get the coronavirus inoculation in the third and final phase. For more information on Maryland's plan, click here.

To catch up on the latest coronavirus trends in Anne Arundel County, read Patch's most recent update.

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Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.