ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Governor Larry Hogan and First Lady Yumi Hogan joined Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today to tour a vaccine clinic at Bridgeway Church in Columbia. The clinic is a partnership between the state’s Vaccine Equity Task Force, Howard County Health Department and other County agencies.
Photos of the tour can be found here.
Here is video of the tour:
Here is video of comments made following the tour:
Our Mobile Integrated Community Health (MICH) team, Health Department, and Department of Community Resources and Services have been so effective in setting up these local vaccine clinics to reach more of our community. Since vaccine became available, we have quickly been getting shots in arms, and nearly 45% of our residents have received their first dose. Now with expanded eligibility and increasing supply, we must do the hard work of ensuring that communities of color, our more vulnerable residents, neighbors with limited English proficiency, residents of all abilities, and people who have limited access to online registration can get their vaccine. In Howard County we have 97% of our seniors 75 and older fully vaccinated, but our job isn’t done until we reach everyone who wants a vaccine.
“This pandemic is not behind us, but we are making tremendous progress thanks to state and local partnerships like this one in Howard County,” said Governor Hogan. “We have 11,400 people who are involved in giving vaccines across the state. We have administered a total of 3.6 million vaccines, 80% of all the people over 65 years of age and 50% of all the people over 18 have received a vaccine. Our goal is to not leave any arms behind.”
The drive-through clinic administered 200 vaccines today, with another 800 doses planned at Bethel Korean Church later this week. To date, the MICH team has held 6 clinics at local churches, masjids, and community centers, vaccinating a total of 1756 residents. Howard County leads the state at 75% of its residents 65 and older fully vaccinated and at 43% of all residents have received a first dose of the vaccine. Ball also announced earlier this week that 97% of Howard County super seniors, those age 75 and older, are fully vaccinated.
“It was an honor to have the Governor and Mrs. Hogan visit one of our COVID-19 community vaccination clinics,” said Howard County Health Officer Dr. Maura Rossman. “Today’s clinic and others like it, held in familiar places with trusted leaders, provides an opportunity to reach our many communities and vulnerable populations. Adding community vaccination clinics to our COVID toolkit is key to fighting this virus and getting back to our new normal.”
“The public safety partnership with the community is more than just responding to emergencies,” said Howard County Fire Chief William Anuszewski. “We are proud to be here, we want to assist our neighbors, and we continue to be encouraged by the vigilance of our Howard County residents. We look forward to continuing community vaccination efforts and partnering with more groups.”