The state of Maryland will be dealing with a 33% reduction in the total federal allocation of COVID-19 vaccines next week, Montgomery County officials said Thursday.
Dr. Travis Gayles, the county鈥檚 health officer, said the dropoff was 鈥渓ikely鈥� tied to the recent destruction of about 15 million botched doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but it鈥檚 not known yet exactly how hard the shortage will hit the county.
Noting that about 500,000 people in the county are awaiting vaccinations, and that the county鈥檚 capacity is currently at about 50,000 a week, County Executive Marc Elrich said at an online briefing Thursday that getting the population fully vaccinated 鈥渃ould take a couple more weeks, depending on how long this lasts.鈥�
The county generally finds out on Friday or Saturday what its allocation will be for the next week, Gayles said.
Elrich also announced that, while the county had reserved vaccination appointments for people on the priority lists regarding age or health conditions, 鈥渁nybody in the county can now register鈥� for an appointment on the county鈥檚 website, and he encouraged all adult residents to do so. 鈥淲e will call you as we get to you in the queue,鈥� Elrich said.
However, he warned, 鈥淒on鈥檛 confuse eligibility with availability.鈥�
A half-million people in the county need to be vaccinated, Elrich said, and the number of doses coming to the county are 鈥渇ar, far less than the number of people eligible to get those doses.鈥�
Gayles said people need to be patient, as difficult as that can be to keep hearing: 鈥淚 know that folks are probably tired of hearing us saying this, but 鈥� if we hold on a little while longer, we can get across the finish line.鈥�
Meanwhile, anyone 16 and older can schedule to get a vaccine at any of the state鈥檚 mass vaccination sites, Gov. Larry Hogan said in a news conference Monday.
Hogan also announced the launch of no-appointment-necessary lines at some mass vaccination sites that will be opening in the future. Starting Friday, the M & Bank Stadium site in Baltimore will of 200 same-day, walk-up vaccinations. Slots will be available each day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. seven days a week, excluding Orioles day game dates.
Montgomery Council to hold hearing on summer camp guidance
The Montgomery County Council, sitting as the board of health, will on regulations over summer camp guidance. The hearing will take place Tuesday at 9:45 a.m.
The includes: only having campers from Maryland, D.C. and Virginia; separating participants into groups of 25 for indoor activities, 50 for outdoor; having a COVID-19 Protocol Plan; and a cap of 25 people in a sleeping area, among others.
The deadline to is Monday, 5 p.m.
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草莓传媒’s Abigail Constantino contributed to this report.
