Maryland To Move To Phase 1B Of COVID-19 Vaccination Plan, Gov. Larry Hogan Says
23ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Maryland will move to Phase 1B of its COVID-19 vaccination plan beginning Monday, Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday.
Hogan made the announcement during a news conference Thursday evening. Phase 1B includes all Marylanders aged 75 or older, those in assisted living and similar facilities, teachers, daycare providers, high-risk people behind bars and people involved in continuity of government.
Of the 547,300 vaccine doses allocated to Maryland so far, Hogan said:
- 320,200 have gone to hospitals, of which 112,175 (35%) have been administered;
- 137,425 have gone to local health departments, of which 56,621 (41.2%) have been administered; and
- 137,425 have gone to a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens. Of those, CVS has finished 94% of its clinics and Walgreens has held 76%.
Hogan said the state is getting around 10,000 first doses daily from the federal government and administering more than that. On Thursday morning, the state's health department reported 13,508 new first doses and 3,136 second doses were administered in the past 24 hours.
To date, 178,415 Marylanders have gotten the first dose of the vaccine, while 15,840 have gotten a second dose.
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Hogan said the state plans to move to Phase 1C on January 25. That phase includes adults aged 65-74, other public health and safety workers as well as other front line workers like those with the U.S. Postal Service, those who work at grocery stores and in food production and manufacturing. Earlier this month, the state said it planned to move to Phase 1C in early March.
Counties will have some flexibility as to when they move to different phases as long as the elderly and most vulnerable are prioritized, the governor said.
Plans are also underway to open mass vaccination sites.
The state has also launched an online portal that will help Marylanders find a list of vaccination sites near them. Click here to learn more.
While the state is moving ahead, Hogan stressed vaccinating the majority of the state will still be a long process and that the limiting factor will be the number of vaccines available.
A number of Marylanders among the first groups eligible for the vaccine called Thursday's announcement exciting.
"I am excited, and I hope people take advantage of it," said Susan Kaptain, a nurse at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center.
Tammy Bresnahan, the director of advocacy for AARP Maryland, said older people, some of those most at risk, are anxious to get in line.
"We are very thrilled that Governor Hogan sees the older. more vulnerable... that they are a priority in Maryland," she said, later highlighting the vast majority of COVID-19 deaths in the state -- more than 95%, according to data from the state's health department -- were among those 50 or older.
When it comes to vaccinating teachers, the state superintendent has submitted plans for each jurisdiction, which school systems will begin to put in place in the coming weeks.
Cindy Sexton with the Teachers Association of Baltimore said having teachers, education staff and daycare providers included in Phase 1B will get schools one step closer to reopening for in-person learning.
"We want to be back in classrooms with our students, so it is one more step to making that a safe environment for everyone," she said.
Watch The Full News Conference Below:
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.
