County updates vaccine schedule
Anne Arundel has distributed 17% of doses, expects more
The Anne Arundel County Health Department announced Tuesday an updated vaccinations schedule, to be rolled out through the end of the month and into late spring.
The health department already has administered 483 vaccines to department employees and public safety workers and plans to vaccinate 1,000 more thisweek.
The county has received 2,600 doses of the Moderna vaccine and will get 200more, along with 4,875 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine. Next week, the health department will vaccinate more than 3,000 health care workers and Maryland Judiciary staff members. The county fire department will vaccinate 2,000 first responders, and the state corrections department will vaccinate 1,000 staff members and inmates.
Maryland has drawn scrutiny as vaccinations statewide have lagged behind other states. As of Tuesday, 26% of the vaccines shipped to Maryland had been administered. The state reported Tuesday night Anne Arundel County had administered 16.7% of its vaccines.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced a series of measures Tuesday to speed the pace of the vaccine rollout.
The county is still moving through Phase 1a, the first tier of vaccine priorities, which includes frontline health care workers at the county’s two main hospitals, other health care workers at private practices, health department employees, long- term care facility residents and staff, first responders, judiciary workers and prison populations.
Judiciary workers, corrections staff and prisoners are new additions to the first tier, as the county received word from the state over the weekend that 5,000 new vaccines would be available “if you promise you can get them into people’s arms within two weeks” County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a media briefing on the effort Tuesday morning. “And so, that created a flurry of activity over the weekend to plan for a larger number than they expected.”
Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, county health officer, said the department would partner with some primary care providers and train 40 school health workers to do vaccinations
to expand the county vaccination capacity.
Kalyanaraman said the county planned a ramp up this week, intentionally holding back some doses to ensure there would be enough vaccines to supply clinics this week. A shipment of 5,000 doses expected to arrive Tuesday is still in route.
A lack of funding and strain on health department staff contribute to slowing the pace of vaccinations, Kalyanaraman has said in previous interviews. The complex logistics involved in storing and transporting the vaccines, which require storing at frigid temperatures and expire in a matter of days or weeks once thawed, add to the challenge, Pittman said.
Hogan’s announcement Tuesday included significant changes to the vaccination schedule for providers unable to get shots into arms. Vaccine providers that cannot get the doses out will risk having those vaccines redistributed elsewhere. And Hogan announced a potential reduction in the number of vaccines distributed to hospitals that thus far have not given out 75% or more of their supply.
Numbers released during the governor’s news conference show Luminis Health System, which includes Anne Arundel Medical Center, and the University of Maryland Medical System, which includes the Baltimore Washington Medical Center, show the hospitals have administered 31.7 and 34.4% of their supplies respectively.
Representatives from the two hospitals said their vaccinations are progressing as planned. The hospitals have received their own caches of vaccine and are not pulling from the county supply.
Arminta Plater, a spokeswoman for AAMC, said 92% of employees showed up for their appointments over the last few days of 2020, and about 60% of employees overall have received their first dose of the vaccine or are scheduled to. Plater said the vaccine has been offered to all frontline healthcare workers and is now available to administrative staff and the hospital’s board of directors.
The hospital “will be expanding to all of our volunteers and the broader community as we confirm and secure vaccine supply fromthe state,” Plater said.
Kevin Cservek, a spokesman for BWMC, said hospital employees across the University of Maryland Medical System who wish to receive the COVID vaccination would receive their first dose by mid- January. As of Tuesday, 15,000 employees system- wide had received at least the first dose of one of the vaccines.
“Some employees are receiving their second dose starting tomorrow,” Cservek said.
Hogan also announced additional resources, including through the Maryland National Guard, to support vaccinations across the state and issued an executive order requiring all providers to report their data to the state within 24 hours. The data will be posted publicly, Hogan said.
A number of essential workers are next in line for vaccinations as a part of Phase 1B, set to begin at the end of January. This group includes teachers, food and agriculture workers, members of the U.S. Postal Service, manufacturing workers, grocery store employees, public transportation workers and those age 75 and older.
Following this category will be a second group of workers with the next highest risk of contracting and spreading the virus. This broader category includes food service workers, bank tellers, workers in transportation and water management, energy workers, lawyers, the media, residents older than 65 and residents with high- risk health conditions.
The groups could change depending on new federal or state guidance and community health needs, according to the county health department.
The Phase 1 vaccinations will likely proceed through late springs, depending on how many vaccines are available and how the federal government allocates them.