Vaccine Eligibility Expanded In Anne Arundel County

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — The Anne Arundel County Department of Health moved into stage 1C of immunization Tuesday. Residents aged 65 to 74 are now eligible for the coronavirus vaccine. Everybody else in phase 1C will be eligible when the county gets more doses.

Anne Arundel Catches Up

State and private inoculation clinics have been in stage 1C since Jan. 25. Though Anne Arundel County has some of these sites that pressed ahead, the local health department kept a narrow scope in its own efforts.

Some Marylanders in the first two waves of vaccination had trouble getting an appointment. In response, county-operated sites decided to work through everybody eligible in stages 1A and 1B before casting an unrealistic eligibility net.

"I am proud that while private providers & state sites were vaccinating everyone in phase 1C we kept our focus on our most elderly & our teachers," Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman tweeted, pointing to the key groups in stage 1B.

Every preregistered resident older than 85 has now gotten an invitation for a shot, the county executive noted. Those 75 and up are not far behind, he added.

Pittman also informed that all Anne Arundel County Public School employees who requested an immunization will be offered one by the end of the week. More than 93,500 locals have gotten at least one dose of the inoculation.

The county noted that it may give the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson inoculations at its clinics, depending on availability. Some residents may prefer one shot over the others, but officials urged them to take whatever they are offered.

"All three vaccines are 100% effective at preventing COVID-19 deaths," the Anne Arundel County Department of Health said in a press release. "Residents are advised to get the vaccine that is available to them at the time."

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Who's Next

After the county works through those in the 65+ age bracket, the next residents in phase 1C will become eligible.

That list includes health care workers in these sectors that weren't included in phase 1A :

• Lab services
• Public health
• Vaccine manufacturers
• Other health care professions

Frontline essential workers in these industries will be next up:

• Food and agriculture
• U.S. Postal Service
• Veterinary medicine
• Manufacturing
• Groceries
• Public transit
• Religious services

Locals who are immunocompromised will also be eligible. They must meet one of the qualifications posted at this link.

A list of everybody who will be eligible in stages 2 and 3 is available here.

How To Sign Up

To preregister for a vaccine from a county-ran clinic, residents can head to aacounty.org/covidvax. Anybody without internet access can call (410) 222-7256 to sign up. TTY users can dial 711 via Maryland Relay.

These methods only cover the sites operated by the Anne Arundel County Department of Health, however. Head to this webpage to see all the clinics available to county residents.

Coronavirus Vaccine Resources

To see when you'll be eligible for the coronavirus inoculation, read Patch's explainer. Check out our how-to guide to learn how to sign up for the shot. Catch up on the latest coronavirus infection and vaccination metrics in Anne Arundel County by heading to our latest numbers 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.