By Carlos Medrano Araujo
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Maryland has seen a nearly 40% drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations since the Jan. 19 peak, the governor announced last week.
Gov. Larry Hogan also announced that a new mass vaccination center will open at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Feb. 25, joining existing centers at Six Flags America and the Baltimore Convention Center.
The state is administering an average of 24,444 daily doses of the COVID vaccination, Hogan said. He said Maryland has given 857,008 vaccines so far, adding that the number represents 83.1% of the first doses received from the federal government.
“Total COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped 39% since the Jan. 19 peak, have decreased by 80 in just the past 48 hours, and are now at their lowest since Nov. 19,” the governor said.
Neysa Ernst, a nurse manager in the Department of Medicine, Biocontainment Unit, at John Hopkins Hospital, said there are a couple factors that have contributed to lower hospitalizations.
First, Ernst said the massive testing in different communities is helping the state identify potential patient quicker. She said the vaccination campaign is also playing a key role in lowering hospitalizations.
“We must focus on the importance on getting the vaccine,” Ernst said.
She said fewer people will be hospitalized as the number of people who are vaccinated increases.
Maryland is currently in what is called Phase 1C in its vaccination program. That means people who are 65 or older can register for a vaccine.
Others who are eligible include those who work in food and agriculture production, critical manufacturing, public mass transit, grocery stores, veterinary occupations, and the U.S. Postal Service.
Clergy and their support staff can also register. Public safety and health care workers who were not eligible in earlier phases of the vaccination program are also permitted to register, state officials said.
Ernst said about 5% of those who get the vaccine have some side effects, which can include chills, nausea, headache and pain at the injection site.
As a fast-food shift manager at Chipotle Mexican Grill in Hunt Valley, Maryland resident Valerie Dawkins is one of the frontline workers who can now get the vaccine.
“It’s great seeing that the hospitalizations have gone down but seeing how people are still not taking the proper precautions, I feel like the numbers of people going back to the hospital are going to double up soon,” she said.
Dawkins is skeptical about getting the vaccine. “I have to keep looking into it to make sure it’s for me,” she said. “I will wait for a little to make sure they work out all of the kinks.”