MD COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility To Expand: Hogan

MARYLAND — Nearly 25 percent of Marylanders have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday.

Maryland will enter Phase 2 of its vaccine distribution plan Tuesday, March 23, he said. In Phase 2, all Marylanders age 60 and up can receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Based on a discussion with the White House coronavirus task force, Hogan said beginning the week of March 29, all states would begin to see a significant increase in vaccine supply.

Starting Thursday, people age 60 and up can register on covidvax.maryland.gov or 1-855-MD-GOVAX.

Phase 2B will begin March 30: This includes those older than 16 with underlying conditions.

Phase 2C will begin April 13: Everyone 55 and up and essential workers in critical industries can get vaccinated.

Phase 3 will begin April 27: All Marylanders 16 and up can get the COVID-19 vaccine.

See Also: How To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In Maryland

For Marylanders, here is the vaccine eligibility timeline for Phases 2 & 3: pic.twitter.com/7iVECF65iB
— Mike Ricci (@riccimike) March 18, 2021

Here are several other announcements:

• The state's sixth mass vaccination site will open in Hagerstown Thursday, March 25.
• "We'll have some announcements shortly in the coming days about additional mass vaccination sites," Hogan said.
• A pilot program will provide vaccine doses to primary care practices statewide.
• The Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission has established a first-in-the-nation program to support hospital efforts to engage in community-based vaccination efforts.
• As of Thursday, Hogan said 2,424 distribution points exist for the COVID-19 vaccine statewide, including 275 pharmacies, 38 hospitals and health departments.

“The biggest challenge that we're faced with continues to be supply,” Hogan said. "To be clear, we do expect that demand will continue to outpace the supply for at least the next several weeks."

Despite challenges, the state has been able to administer 2 million doses of the vaccine, the governor reported.

“This is an exciting day for Maryland,” Hogan said Thursday. “Today, exactly one year after confirming the first Maryland death, from COVID-19, our state has officially surpassed the milestone of 2 million vaccines administered.”

Said Hogan: “We are now one big step closer to reaching that light at the end of the tunnel that we've all been talking about."