January 14, 2021 – Governor Hogan Press Conference
- The governor announced immediate activation of Phase 1B of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan.
- Starting Monday, eligible groups will be expanded statewide to include:
- All Marylanders 75 and older
- Anyone of any age living in assisted living or independent living facilities and developmental disabilities and behavioral health group homes.
- K-12 teachers, education staff and child care providers. For teachers and education staff, the state superintendent has submitted plans for how each county school system will vaccinate its teachers and critical staff. The plans will be implemented in the coming weeks.
- Beginning Monday, the state is directing all Maryland hospitals and county health departments to begin using remaining doses by opening Phase 1B clinics focused on the elderly.
- The state is launching covidvax.maryland.gov, an online portal where Marylanders can find a list of vaccination sites in their area along with contact information. Due to limited supply, vaccinations will be done by appointment only at this time.
- Maryland also activated Part B of the federal CVS and Walgreens partnership to include assisted living and all other long-term care facilities.
- The governor announced the launch of a pilot program with Walmart and Giant locations to begin administering vaccines at their pharmacies. The pilot will launch the week of January 25th at:
- 22 Giant locations
- 3 Martin’s locations in Washington and Allegany counties
- 10 Walmart locations on the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland.
- As of today, Maryland Department of Health data indicated 178,415 first doses have been administered and 15,840 second doses have been administered in the state to date.
- Maryland has distributed 547,300 (first and second) doses of vaccines to hospitals, nursing homes and local health departments as of Thursday. This represents 99.6% of all doses allotted by the federal government.
- The state will move into Phase 1C starting January 25th, which will be open to all Maryland residents ages 65 to 74.
- In anticipation of increased vaccine production, the Maryland Department of Health and the Maryland National Guard are working with private partners to open mass vaccination sites at central locations.
The National Guard has been assisting the Prince George’s County Health Department, along with Charles County, to expand their county vaccination clinics. The Guard is also serving as a force multiplier and providing support personnel to testing and vaccination sites, the governor announced. - The MDH is issuing an order that allows out-of-state practitioners to prepare and administer vaccines in Maryland.
- Through the Maryland Responds Medical Reserve Corps, the state has allocated 771 volunteers for county vaccination clinics. Ten jurisdictions have taken advantage of this, and six more have initiated the process of receiving volunteers.
