ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Governor Larry Hogan on Tuesday announced the release of the State of Maryland’s initial draft of its COVID-19 mass vaccination plan, which was submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week.
“In anticipation of a COVID-19 vaccine, Maryland stands ready to order, distribute, and administer it effectively and rapidly as soon as a vaccine becomes available,” Hogan said. “The State of Maryland’s plan for this historic undertaking will immediately make the vaccine available to Marylanders at highest risk of developing complications from COVID-19 as well as our critical frontline health care workers and essential workers in public safety and education.”
Hogan recently toured the headquarters of Novavax, Inc., in Gaithersburg — one of nearly 40 Maryland companies that are working on developing and manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, improving diagnostic tests and providing clinical research and technological support to ensure safe and effective health care delivery.
Read the full draft of Maryland's COVID-19 vaccination plan below:
In April, state health officials began multi-agency operational discussions in preparation for a COVID-19 vaccine. That preparation included reviewing lessons learned from previous pandemics and outbreaks — including the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic — as well as previous influenza vaccination campaigns.
Maryland’s draft COVID-19 vaccination plan focuses on two major phases of vaccine availability and distribution.
Phase 1 will focus on priority groups to receive the vaccination, while Phase 2 will have wide-scale vaccine availability for the general population. Additionally, vaccine supply is expected to rapidly increase once distribution begins – alleviating the need to limit the distribution of the vaccine.
Here's a detailed plan of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of Maryland's vaccine availability and distribution:
Phase 1: Vaccination of Critical Populations: Initial COVID-19 vaccination efforts will target those at highest risk of developing complications from COVID-19 and those in critical industries:
- Frontline first responders and health care workers evaluating and caring for COVID-19 patients;
- Staff and residents of nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and assisted living facilities; and
- Essential workers, including public safety, education, and staff in congregate living facilities.
Specific vaccination metrics will be utilized to assess Phase 1 vaccination progress and determine where additional effort is needed. These metrics may include:
- Percent of Phase 1 population vaccinated;
- Percent and number of residents and staff at long-term care facilities vaccinated;
- Determination of an equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine throughout the state for the Phase 1 population; and
- Percent and number of Phase 1 population pre-registered.
Phase 2: Vaccination of General Public: Determination of the beginning of Phase 2 will be influenced by a number of factors:
- Availability of COVID-19 vaccine;
- Notification by CDC and state authorities that the general public Phase 2 can begin due to sufficient supply; and/or
- Achievement of targeted metrics for vaccination of high priority Phase 1 groups.