Maryland is receiving its first shipment of Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccine, which received federal emergency use authorization Saturday.
Maryland’s acting health secretary on Monday outlined to legislators a two-week breakdown of four counties’ allocation of COVID-19 vaccine, in response to questions about local health departments’ declining allotments.
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State senators raised some big questions about the vaccine distribution in the state during their workgroup meeting on Monday.
Concerns about the amount of discretion, about where those doses go and who holds the Maryland Department of Health accountable were addressed.
State legislators said they ve been hearing constantly from constituents who are confused by the vaccine rollout. They just want to know when and where they can get the vaccine.
“This is the most important thing happening in state government right now. This has to get done well,” Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore City said.
That s why Ferguson said the Senate Vaccine Oversight Workgroup started meeting weekly with acting Health Secretary Dennis Schrader for an update on the coronavirus vaccine distribution around the state.
The Maryland Senate Vaccine Oversight Workgroup met for their weekly update from the state health department Monday evening and questions centered on where the vaccine is going and barriers to Marylanders accessing it. Maryland is still near the bottom for vaccine distribution and state senators are focusing on ways to expedite the process and get it to those who need it.|| Coronavirus updates | Maryland s latest numbers | Get tested | Vaccine Info ||The state of Maryland is getting 88,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine a week. Acting Secretary of Health Denis Schrader told the State Senate Vaccine Oversight Workgroup that the State Health Department decides exactly where those doses go. Maryland online vaccination site locatorVaccine Data DashboardMaryland vaccination plan FAQs “I wouldn t say it’s totally discretionary, but we re looking at each county to make sure the cumulative for their county, whether its hospitals, whether its local health departments, whether its ph