Navy Stadium Mass Vaccination Site Opens, Offers Free Rides

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — The Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium mass vaccination site opens Thursday. The facility will immunize about 1,500 locals each day.

Gov. Larry Hogan announced the new location on March 23. It is one of 13 active or planned high-volume clinics in the state.

Eligible Marylanders can preregister for an appointment at any mass inoculation venue. Anne Arundel, however, wants to make the Annapolis site as accessible as possible for county residents.

The county and the City of Annapolis will offer free and reduced-price transportation to the clinic. Leaders hope this effort will improve equity and ensure everybody can get a shot, regardless of whether they have a car.

"Anne Arundel County has prioritized our most vulnerable residents throughout the vaccination rollout," County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a press release. "We won’t allow transportation barriers to stand in the way of anyone getting vaccinated."

Transportation

Locals can schedule a free ride to any immunization clinic in the county by calling the Office of Transportation at 410-222-0225 or 410-222-0047. The call center is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Residents can also take the AA-Gold College Parkway bus route to the Rowe Boulevard and Taylor Avenue stop, which is steps away from the stadium. The county bus is free during the coronavirus pandemic. Route information and schedules are posted here.

Anybody 55 and up or locals 18 and older with a disability can use the Department of Aging and Disabilities’ Taxi Voucher program to book transportation to their appointment. This initiative sells $10 worth of taxi passes to residents for $5. More information is available by dialing 410-222-4222.

Annapolis will run a free shuttle from the stadium to Chruch Circle. The service will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. This will link the inoculation clinic to major city bus routes.

"Navy Stadium is centrally located and a great spot for a mass vaccination site," Buckley added in the release. "But for those without easy access to transportation options, it might as well be a million miles away. Simplifying access to this site will help us get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible - and help us to get to the other side of this pandemic."

Other Mass Vaccination Sites

The state has 10 other active mass vaccination sites located at:

• The Baltimore Convention Center
• Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium
• Upper Marlboro's Six Flags America
• Waldorf's Regency Furniture Stadium
• Salisbury's Wicomico Youth & Civic Center
• The former Wolf Furniture store in the Hagerstown Premium Outlets
• The Timonium Fairgrounds
• Germantown's campus of Montgomery College
• Greenbelt Station
• Frederick Community College

Two more high-volume facilities will open next week at:

• The Mall in Columbia
• Aberdeen's Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium

Anybody 16 and up can now preregister for an appointment at any of these locations by visiting covidvax.maryland.gov or calling 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

Residents in earlier stages of inoculation, like front-line workers and at-risk Marylanders, will still take precedence. That means locals may have to wait a bit for a timeslot.

"Vaccinating our most at-risk residents is the key to saving lives and preventing hospitalizations," Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman concluded. "Many of them have limited access to transportation. With the combination of community clinics and these free transportation options, we hope everyone will have easier access to get vaccinated."

Coronavirus Vaccine Resources

Anybody 16 or older can now get the vaccine at providers across the state. Check out our how-to guide to learn how to sign up for the coronavirus vaccine.

Catch up on the latest coronavirus infection and inoculation metrics in Anne Arundel County with our most recent numbers update. Head to Patch's immunization page to keep up with Maryland's latest vaccine news.

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• COVID-19 Vaccine Open To Marylanders 16 And Up Starting April 6

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.