ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan on Tuesday afternoon announced the reactivation of the Maryland National Guard to support state and local health officials in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines statewide.

“With vaccine distribution now beginning in our state, we have finally reached a turning point. We are able to see the sun rising on the horizon—even if that horizon may still seem a little distant right now,” said Governor Hogan. “I want to assure the people of Maryland that we will get through this together, and that every single day, as we vaccinate more and more people and we continue to fight this virus with everything we’ve got, will bring us that much closer to victory over this deadly virus.”

The governor was joined by Acting Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services Dr. Jinlene Chan, COVID-19 Incident Commander and Senior Medical Advisor Dr. David Marcozzi, and Maryland National Guard Adjutant General Timothy Gowen.

REACTIVATION OF NATIONAL GUARD FOR VACCINE DISTRIBUTION

The governor announced that he has activated the Maryland National Guard to provide support to state and local health officials in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines:

• During the initial distribution phase, special field teams will be deployed to provide logistical support with vaccination planning and operations to points of distribution across the state.
• As more vaccines become available, the guard will provide additional coordination and logistical support for the set-up of mobile vaccination clinics as well as address outbreaks at nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

PUBLIC OUTREACH UPDATE

The governor announced an aggressive public outreach effort on the COVID-19 vaccines, including briefing Maryland’s congressional delegation, the leaders of the General Assembly, county leaders, faith-based leaders, and community stakeholders. In addition, the governor announced that the state will soon be launching public service announcements regarding the safety and importance of vaccinations.

MARYLAND COVID-19 VACCINATION UPDATES

Dr. Chan provided an overview of the latest developments regarding Maryland’s vaccination plan, which is currently in Phase 1A.

• Maryland has an initial allocation of 155,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which will be dedicated to healthcare workers in hospitals and nursing home residents and staff. While the state is projected to be allocated up to 300,000 doses by the end of the month, actual availability is dependent on vaccine production.
• Phase 1A: Frontline Healthcare Workers. A portion of the initial vaccine allocation will be shipped directly to hospital facilities, using information collected in coordination with the Maryland Hospital Association. Every Maryland hospital will get an initial allocation out of the 155,000 doses.
• Phase 1A: Long-Term Care Facilities. State health officials have signed up every nursing home and assisted living facility in Maryland for the federal pharmacy partnership with CVS and Walgreens, which will set up clinics to begin in the next two weeks.
• Phase 1A: First Responders. State health officials are setting aside doses from initial allocations for local health departments to vaccinate first responders. Vaccination clinics for EMS, firefighters, and law enforcement may start in the next two weeks.
• Transparency. In the coming weeks, state health officials will roll out a new public COVID-19 vaccine dashboard that will show how many vaccines have been administered by county, age, race and other demographic details.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccinations, visit covidlink.maryland.gov.

The full transcript from Tuesday’s press conference can be viewed here.

An explanation of Maryland’s vaccination phases can be found in the graphic below.