3 More COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Sites Planned In Maryland: Hogan

MARYLAND — Just a few days short of the one-year mark since the first cases of coronavirus were detected in Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan addressed the state of the virus at a Tuesday news conference.

A new mass vaccination site is opening Thursday in southern Maryland, he said, with two others launching this month, bringing the total to five statewide.

Three mass vaccination sites are open — at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, the Baltimore Convention Center and Six Flags America in Prince George's County.

A fourth is opening Thursday in Waldorf, according to the governor. One mass vaccination site in Salisbury is opening mid-March, while a Hagerstown site will be operational by the end of this month.

"This will give us at least one mass vaccination site in every region of the state, which can administer thousands of shots per day," Hogan said. "In addition, state health and emergency management officials are in active discussions with several other counties that have expressed interest in partnering on additional state mass vaccination sites."

Access to vaccines would drive the addition of any new sites, according to the governor.

"Expanding the hours, the capacity, volume and the number of mass vaccination sites are all contingent on future increases in supply from the federal government," Hogan said.

Southern, Eastern, Western MD Mass Vaccination Sites Planned:

• The southern Maryland mass vaccination site at the Blue Crab Stadium in Charles County will open Thursday, March 4. This is one week ahead of schedule, according to Hogan, who said the initial appointment slots will be made available starting Tuesday night.
• On the Eastern Shore, a mass vaccination site will open at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center in Salisbury by Thursday, March 18. Tidal Health will be the clinical partner.
• A Western Maryland mass vaccination site at the Premium Outlets in Hagerstown will open by the end of the month. Meritus Hospital will be the clinical partner.
• With the M&T Bank Stadium site operational, the Baltimore Convention Center mass vaccination site is expanding its focus, prioritizing underserved Baltimore City communities.

As of Tuesday, state data shows Maryland has administered more than 1.36 million vaccines to prevent COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. More than 250,000 were given over the last seven days, Hogan said.

"We're now averaging a new record of 35,730 shots per day," the governor reported Tuesday.

Johnson & Johnson Shipments Start, Stop

This week, the state will receive 49,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was just approved over the weekend by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"These doses will be deployed across the state this week, including to mass vaccination sites, hospitals, community health centers, pharmacies and local health departments," Hogan said Tuesday. "Providers will begin to receive their shipments of Johnson and Johnson as early as today."

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine comes in a single dose, while the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines — which the state has been administering since December — require two doses several weeks apart.

"I want to caution Marylanders that this is only an initial allocation," Hogan said of the first shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, stating White House officials informed leaders Tuesday that no Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be shipped in the next two weeks. "After that, that they're promising that by the 18th, we will be getting another shipment."

Emergent BioSolutions, a Montgomery County-based biopharmaceutical company, is producing components for the vaccine at an east Baltimore facility. It is manufacturing the viral vector that is then shipped out to other plants making the COVID-19 shots, according to The Washington Post.

"Our plan is to get this vaccine into the community right away and right into arms so that we can continue increasing our vaccination rate," Hogan said.

There are 2,381 vaccination points in Maryland, according to the governor.

"I can assure you that whatever supply we are able to receive, we are ready to immediately deploy ... into the arms of Marylanders," Hogan said. "White House officials assured governors today that they are working to increase the supply of all vaccines."

Health care providers, pharmacies and local health departments are vaccinating people. To find places offering eligible Marylanders the COVID-19 vaccine, visit covidvax.maryland.gov or call 211. All COVID-19 vaccinations are by appointment only.

Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be a senior advisor for public health in Maryland, offering guidance on vaccines and variants, Hogan said at his 1 p.m. news conference about COVID-19, which people can watch on his Twitter, Facebook or YouTube accounts.

See the YouTube video of the governor's March 2 news conference below:

Hogan announced the first confirmed cases of the virus in Maryland on March 5, 2020. Three people who live in Montgomery County contracted the coronavirus while on a Nile River cruise.

Nearly a year later, Maryland has confirmed 383,170 cases and 7,723 deaths from COVID-19.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus in Maryland, get Patch news alerts.

On Monday, the governor announced the state has vaccinated 40 percent of residents 65 and up.

Coronavirus metrics reflect declining positivity, hospitalizations and new case rates, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Latest MD Coronavirus Data

The statewide coronavirus positivity rate Tuesday is 3.35 percent, below the 5 percent threshold the World Health Organization advises for safely reopening.

The state's positivity rate dropped below 4 percent last week for the first time since Nov. 2, the governor's office reported. Maryland's positivity rate hit a recent high of 9.44 percent on Jan. 5, data shows.

Case rates are down from a peak of 53.39 per 100,000 on Jan. 12, according to state health data.

Statewide, there are 13.1 cases of the virus per 100,000 people.

When an area exceeds 10 new cases per 100,000, community spread has accelerated and is at dangerous levels, according to the Harvard Global Health Institute. If the case rate is greater than 25, officials say community spread is out of control and may require measures to curb the infection.

Of the 896 coronavirus patients hospitalized statewide, officials said 232 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as of Tuesday.

Maryland has administered 1,362,758 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among those, more than 898,000 were first doses and over 678,000 were second doses. Authorities said 30,170 vaccinations have been given in the last day.

Maryland is currently in Phase 1C of its vaccination distribution plan.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

See Also:

• MD Reaches COVID Vaccine Milestone, J&J Shots Arrive This Week
• State, FEMA To Open Mass Vaccination Site In Charles County
• How To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In Maryland
• MD Administers 1M Vaccine Doses; Hogan Says Supply Still Scarce
• Maryland Coronavirus Positivity Rate Drops Below 4 Percent
• Many Maryland Schools Reopen Monday, March 1
• Officials Seize Website Claiming To Sell COVID-19 Treatment Drug Remdesivir
• MD Launches Hotline For Coronavirus Vaccines

Here's a look at coronavirus in Maryland as of Tuesday, March 2: