Maryland Accelerates COVID-19 Vaccination Plan: Gov. Larry Hogan

MARYLAND — Maryland is moving into Phase 1B of its COVID-19 vaccination plan, adding school staff, care facility residents, and the elderly to the list of those who can receive shots to ward off the coronavirus, Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday evening.

Starting Monday, eligible groups will be expanded to include Marylanders age 75 and older, those in group homes or other congregate living facilities, school staff, childcare providers, and high-risk inmates.

"Getting vaccinated is the single most important thing that you can do right now to save lives and to protect your friends, family, and community," Hogan said. "By getting this effective and safe vaccine, all of us can play an important part in returning to normal, ending the damage to our economy, preventing more illnesses and deaths in our state, and eliminating and eradicating this pandemic once and for all."

At Thursday's press conference, Hogan also announced the launch of a pilot program with Walmart and Giant. The pilot program begins on Jan. 25 and will include 22 Giant locations, three Martin's locations in Washington and Allegany counties, and 10 Walmart locations in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore.

Phase 1C, which will include all adults between the ages of 65 and 74, is also set to begin on Jan. 25.

Providers do not have to vaccinate everyone in one group before moving on to the next, Hogan said, adding that he will give all 24 jurisdictions in the state discretion in deciding when to press forward.

"We have now granted them that flexibility to move into the next groups in line as they see fit, as long as they continue to prioritize the elderly and the most vulnerable populations in their jurisdictions," he said.

Vaccines Delivered and Administered As of Jan. 14

The state has received about 547,300 first and second doses of the vaccine so far. Of those:

• 320,200 have been delivered to hospitals statewide, of which 112,175 (or 35 percent) have been administered to staff
• 137,425 have been delivered to all local health departments, of which 56,621 (or 41.2 percent) have been administered to staff
• 137,425 have been delivered to CVS and Walgreens (through a federal partnership)
  • CVS finished 94 percent of its nursing homes
  • Walgreens finished 76 percent of its nursing homes

Supply Will Be "Greatest Limiting Factor"

Maryland receives vaccines from the federal government and its supply is subject to change.

"Going forward, our greatest limiting factor by far will be supply," Hogan said. "The number of people just in Phase 1 of our plan is 1.5 million people, and they need two doses. So that's 3 million doses that we need just to be able to vaccinate the people in Phase 1 before we even talk about Phase 2 and 3."

Hogan said the state will need 12 million doses to fully vaccinate all Marylanders. To date, Maryland has received 4.5 percent of that amount.

"This is going to take a long time, a great deal of patience, and a lot more vaccines," he said. "We need a commitment from the companies that are making the vaccines to make more of them. We need a commitment from the incoming Biden Administration to get us more of those doses. And then we need to determine which Maryland providers can get those shots into arms the fastest and what we can do to help them."

Online Vaccination Portal Launched

The state has launched an online portal where residents can find a list of vaccination sites in their area, as well as the appropriate contact information for the various vaccinators, Hogan said.

The website is covidvax.maryland.gov.

New State Health Order Issued

The state on Thursday issued a new health order that would allow out-of-state practitioners to prepare and administer vaccines in Maryland.

"We will continue to provide whatever personnel and resources that the vaccinators need in order to help them increase their pace and to utilize all of the allocations that we are delivering and deploying to them," Hogan said.

The order can be found here.

Monoclonal Antibodies: An Option For COVID-19 Treatment

Dr. Jinlene Chan, the deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, said officials are working to incorporate monoclonal antibodies into COVID-19 treatments.

Doses of monoclonal antibodies were authorized by the FDA last year and are injected intravenously to people with mild or moderate COVID-19.

The antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system's natural ability to fight off viruses. High-risk individuals who test positive for COVID-19 may be eligible to receive treatment.

"When this treatment is given to an eligible patient ... what the studies have shown is that there is a reduced risk of hospitalization as well as emergency department visits," Chan said. "We believe that in conjunction with vaccines, this treatment can help prevent hospitalizations and more serious complications from the disease."

As of Thursday, Chan said about 90 percent of nursing homes in the state have access to monoclonal antibiotic treatment.

Currently, Maryland has seven infusion sites. Chan said four more facilities will open next week.

More information can be found here.

A video of the press conference can be found below: