By Spencer Smith
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Maryland residents 16 and older will be eligible to get vaccinated at any of the state’s mass vaccination sites starting today and with their primary care providers starting April 12, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Monday.
Pre-registration for Phase 3 vaccination appointments opened last week and more than half a million people have already registered, Hogan said.
“Marylanders 16 or 17 years of age will only be able to utilize clinics that are providing the Pfizer vaccine as it is the only one that is currently approved by the FDA for ages 16 and older,” Hogan said.
Even though vaccinations will be open to everyone in the state 16 years of age or older, Phase 1 and 2 residents will continue to be prioritized for vaccination appointments. Those phases include residents who are 55 and older as well as anyone in key front-line jobs such as health care.
Hogan also addressed the addition of more COVID-19 mass vaccination sites and the first no-appointment-necessary walk-up line at the Eastern Shore site in Salisbury that opened Friday.
He noted that more no-appointment-necessary lines will begin opening at various vaccination sites.
However, Hogan suggests that pre-registration through the website, COVIDvax.maryland.gov, is still beneficial.
“The best way to guarantee a vaccine and to get through the sites faster is still to pre-register and secure an appointment,” Hogan said.
Currently, there are 481 pharmacies that are giving out vaccines. The federal government will be providing additional supplies to pharmacies, which will allow for more vaccination appointments across the state.
“I want to stress that even though we’re opening up eligibility for everyone, that does mean everyone will immediately get an appointment,” Hogan said. “But with the supply of doses increasing over next month or so, a vaccine should be available for everyone who wants one.“
Additionally, Hogan mentioned some of the vaccination milestones that have been reached.
“Over the last week, we have reached some major milestones in our COVID-19 campaign, including our first day over 75,000 vaccinations,” Hogan said. “And today we hit more than 3 million vaccines.”