ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan on Thursday announced more than $123.2 million in funding to support Maryland’s local health departments, including resources for ongoing COVID-19 vaccination activities. This includes over $15 million that will be awarded to Baltimore County.

“As the state begins mass vaccination, and continues to expand the distribution network of vaccinators, county health departments will play a critical role in our focus on hard-to-reach areas and underserved populations,” said Governor Hogan. “I want to thank and extend my appreciation to all of the vaccinators who are working around the clock to serve the community.”

Thursday’s announcement comes one day before the state opens its first two mass vaccination sites: Six Flags America in Prince George’s County and the Baltimore Convention Center Field Hospital in Baltimore City. The 24 local health departments are part of an expanding distribution network that now includes more than 110 active providers listed on https://covidvax.maryland.gov.

COVID-19 Vaccination Funding

The funding for COVID-19 vaccination activities will be awarded to each jurisdiction based on their populations in proportion to Maryland’s total population. The awards will be made on a reimbursable basis with oversight by the Maryland Department of Health. To the extent that local health departments do not spend their allocations, the state may recover the remaining funds to use for its own vaccination spending.

Support to Address Budget Shortfalls

In addition, the administration will submit a supplemental budget request to the General Assembly that supports county health departments for deficits related to closing their self-supported fee-for-service clinics. If this funding is approved, MDH will award the funding as a grant to the local health departments where they will be required to substantiate their deficits.

Maryland providers have administered 601,914 COVID-19 vaccines, and 73.9% of all first doses received from the federal government have been given. The average daily rate of shots administered is 21,714—a 64% increase over the last two weeks.