Maryland Sets New Pandemic Records On Friday, Officials Still Urging People To Get Vaccinated
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Governor Larry Hogan tweeted that Maryland set some new records in the last 24 hours on Friday.
The Governor said the state reported a positivity rate of 1.37 percent, the lowest number since the start of the pandemic, and an 8 month low for hospitalizations.
However, despite those numbers, there are still challenges. People remain hesitant to take the vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control is also looking into some rare cases of heart inflammation after young adults were vaccinated.
As children 12 and older started to get Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC said a handful of cases emerged where young people developed a rare side effect of heart inflammation after their second dose.
CDC officials said the agency hasn't determined if there is a link between the rare inflammatory condition and the vaccine and they are still urging people to get the shot.
"Last month, FDA authorized and CDC recommended a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 that can be used in adolescents to prevent disease and hospitalization. I strongly encourage parents to get their teens vaccinated as I did mine," said CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
Maryland is now moving into a new pandemic phase.
Mass vaccination sites will close soon and resources will shift to pop clinics like The Southern Maryland Food Truck Festival this weekend or mobile clinics that are going directly into neighborhoods.
In Baltimore, only 55 percent of the population is vaccinated. Mayor Brandon Scott said the plan is to expand access to people who may not have transportation.
"Imagine if you lived in Curtis Bay how hard it would be for you to get from Curtis Bay to anywhere in Baltimore to get a vaccine," says Mayor Scott. "That's why we are taking the vaccine to those communities, working with people so that we are eliminating every excuse," said Mayor Scott.
The indoor mask mandate will remain in place in Baltimore until 65 percent of residents over the age of 18 have received at least 1 dose.
Maryland is one of a handful of states where 70 percent of the population is vaccinated.
Politicians have now resorted to freebies like beer and a chance to win thousands of dollars in lottery prizes to convince people to get the shot
The U.S. is also giving away COVID-19 vaccines to help other countries that don't have enough.
"And I also wonder what do people think in other parts of the world coming back to your original question, where there is such great need for vaccines, what do these people think about the fact that Americans need to be bribed to get vaccines," said Bill Moss the Executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center.
