Live! Casino and Hotel a vaccination site
Register online to receive the vaccine at aacounty.org/covidvax
Live! Casino and Hotel will host coronavirus vaccination clinics over the next few months to facilitate larger groups of people as Anne Arundel County expands its efforts to inoculate residents and workers against the coronavirus this week.
The Hanover casino opened the clinic Tuesday in partnership with the county Health Department, which will administer the vaccines to people who live and work within the county and are eligible under the current rollout plan.
County residents age 75 and older became eligible this week to receive the vaccine, along with teachers, child care providers, some government workers and the residents and staff of group living facilities. Health care workers, first responders and residents of long-term care facilities are still eligible if they haven’t already received the vaccine.
Live! Casino and Hotel is hosting the clinic in an unused event space, general manager Anthony
Faranca said, as the pandemic shut down the large indoor gatherings that would typically occupy the hall. The county is not paying for use of the space.
“We’re just really proud and honored to be part of the solution to getting past this terrible pandemic,” Faranca said.
Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, county health officer, said more than 60,000 people signed up to receive the coronavirus vaccine when the county opened registra
tion last week. Of those, 13,000 registrations were age 75 or older.
Kalyanaraman said the county estimates there are more than 60,000 residents and workers covered in the current phase. He asked residents to be patient as the county receives only about 5,000 doses per week.
“It’s going to take the better part of one and a half, two months to get through this group,” he said.
Staff at the casino site will be able to vaccinate about 100 people an hour and operate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The vaccinations are appointment only and for those who qualify in Phases 1A and 1B.
All casino patrons are required to wear masks and pass a temperature check. Staff must verify they don’t have any symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and customers must social distance on the games floor. Pittman’s most current emergency order limits casinos to 25% capacity.
Kalyanaraman asked county residents to wait their turn, as people ineligible under county rules have shown up at the county vaccination sites after making an appointment using a link from a friend or family member, forcing on-site staff to turn them away.
“We need people to be honest about what phase they’re in,” he said. “We’re pretty much running on the honor system.”
The vaccine is available only for certain groups. Those groups are people age 75 and older, teachers, child care providers, some government workers and the residents and staff of group living facilities. Health care workers, first responders and residents of long-term care facilities are still eligible if they have not been vaccinated.
County health officials are asking only eligible people who have registered to come to the vaccine stations at this time. People deemed ineligible will be turned away.
Once eligible for the vaccine, register to receive it by visiting aacounty.org/covidvax. The website will prompt the user to register. Upon registration, the user will be given a projected phase and a notice that the health department will contact them via email once that phase is eligible.
Register:
Online at aacounty.org/covidvax. By phone at 410-222-3663 or Maryland Access Point Line at 410-222-4464. For those using a textphone, call via Maryland Relay at 711.
The county is running vaccination clinics at the casino and Anne Arundel Community College. It will open more sites in the coming weeks.
Those getting vaccinated at Live! Casino and Hotel will be subject to the same temperature check and mask orders as casino patrons and staff. Those with an appointment can follow signage or ask any casino guards or staff to direct them to the clinic.