COVID In Maryland: More Than 1.2M Marylanders Fully Vaccinated; Cases Increase By Nearly 1.3K

ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) — Maryland added 1,297 new COVID-19 cases Thursday and hospitalizations increased, according to data from the State Department of Health.

The state has recorded 421,823 cases since the beginning of the pandemic and 8,224 deaths, up 21 from Wednesday.

Hospitalizations stand at 1,216, up 16 from the last day. Of those, there are 281 in ICU beds and 935 in acute care.

The state's positivity rate went down again, now at 5.56%.

Over 9 million coronavirus tests have been administered in the state with 35,961 in the last day.

Maryland remains in 2B of its vaccination plan, but all Marylanders ages 16 and up can get the vaccination at several mass vaccination sites around the state. Some even have walk-up lines.

As of Thursday morning, 1,226,961 Marylanders are fully vaccinated. They have administered 3,192,805 total doses, with 1,965,844 first doses and 1,109,331 second doses administered so far. Of those, 35,468 first doses and 30,191 second doses were given out in the last day.

They also continue to administer the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine, with 117,630 total given out so far. In the last day, they administered 11,026 doses.

On Thursday, Governor Larry Hogan and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski toured the vaccination site at the state fairgrounds, which they've described as a model.

"We're honoring our appointments. We're only scheduling them when we have doses. We're getting people in and out in a very efficient manner," Olszewski said.

45% of Marylanders have now received one dose of vaccine, but the case numbers are still rising.

WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren asked Governor Hogan about his biggest concern.

"This bad news we got from the feds that they're going to be dramatically slashing our supply of vaccines," Hogan said. Maryland will get an 85% cut in doses of J&J for the next few weeks, according to Hogan, which he says could put Maryland behind by 250,000 vaccinations.

Baltimore's Emergent plant, where millions of doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine were wasted, is still not approved by the FDA to supply vaccines to the general public.

New York Times reporting revealed the facility was flagged last year over concerns about quality control and staff training.

Maryland has also seen a jump in cases of dangerous variants with 665 confirmed infections of the UK strain, which is now dominant in the United States.

"We are concerned about these variants. There are other states in worse shape," Hogan said. He also told WJZ he's worried about a rise in hospitalizations among those in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

In Baltimore City, new infections have risen 163 % in the past month.

"Our data shows what happens when the simple harm reduction rules that have protected our residents so long are thrown out the window," said Baltimore's Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa.

Starting tomorrow, 200 walk-up, no appointment vaccinations will be available at M&T Bank Stadium.

Concerns remain about vaccine equity in Maryland. "A successful vaccination campaign is not just measured by the number of vaccines you give, but the number of vaccines you put in Black and Brown patients," said Baltimore County Health Officer Dr. Gregory Branch.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: 

• Coronavirus Resources: How To Get Help In Maryland
• TIMELINE: Coronavirus In Maryland, Tracking The Spread
• Latest coronavirus stories from WJZ
• Latest CDC Guidelines

Here's a breakdown of the numbers:

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.

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