Howard County Health Department Allotted Only 1.7K Vaccine Doses A Week For The Next Month, Officials Say

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) -- Howard County officials said Tuesday that the number of coronavirus vaccines they have received from the state has been decreasing -- most recently, they learned the county's health department would only received 1,700 doses a week for the next month.

County Executive Calvin Ball said although initially the county received 4,500 doses of the vaccine, the supply has decreased.

"We've made great progress, and the Health Department continues to be one of the most efficient jurisdictions when it comes to getting shots in arms," said Ball. "However, we still have many challenges, including a vaccine supply that has decreased over the past three weeks. We know that many in our community are eagerly looking forward to getting vaccinated."

Although the county has made progress vaccinating residents -- more than 50,000 received their first does and 20,000 received their second dose -- the health department continues to receive an underwhelming number of doses while Ball said statewide sites and private providers are often seeing increases.

Ball said last week the county faced setbacks when they didn't receive the doses allotted due to winter weather.

The county will continue to try to get as many residents vaccinated as the supply comes in. Anyone can pre-register for the coronavirus vaccine in Howard County.

Watch the press conference below:

In:
• Maryland
• COVID-19
• Howard County