Thanks to County Councilman Tom Dernoga for sharing the latest situation about vaccine distribution. I hope you’ll find this information helpful!
Friends,
We are all frustrated about confusing information surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Constituents keep trying to get accurate information, and my staff and I have been constantly scrambling to get answers and to disseminate accurate information.
The root cause of the problem is the lack of adequate vaccine doses. In addition, the rollout is through multiple entities that do not have integrated programs. Changes and enhancements are being made daily as vaccine supply and locations evolve.
In Maryland, the starting point for distribution is with the State, and Prince George’s County has limited influence on the process. The State is providing for vaccine distribution through (1) hospitals and health care providers, (2) retail pharmacies; and (3) County Health Departments. See below for links. Prince George’s County only has control over vaccine distribution through the County Health Department, although the County is trying to create partnerships with the other distribution entities.
The latest County information will be found here. The latest Statewide information will be found here (including additional vaccine partners servicing our community, such as hospitals and retail sites).
As I stated above, the demand for doses is far greater than the number of vaccines Maryland is receiving from the Federal Government. And, Governor Hogan has expanded the pool of eligible recipients to a far greater number than there will be vaccine doses for a while. We are currently in Phase 1B and Governor Hogan has asked us to move to Phase 1C on Monday. The list of phases is here.
County Executive Alsobrooks held a press conference Tuesday to provide an update on the vaccine distribution and issued a press release summarizing the latest information. You can watch the press conference here.
Residents must now fill out a pre-registration form. To make sure that Prince Georgians who are most vulnerable have access to appointments, the County is resetting all appointments currently scheduled after February 9 at the Sports & Learning Complex. The Health Department will send out notices to those individuals and they will be required to fill out the pre-registration form online to be able to reschedule their appointments. Individuals who have an appointment on February 9 or before should keep their scheduled appointment, and they will not need to fill out the pre-registration form. Anyone who has an appointment for a second dose of the vaccine after February 9 will not have their appointment changed.
When the County has more vaccines available and/or moves to future phases of vaccine distribution, individuals who have pre-registered will be notified when they are eligible, and the Health Department will follow up with links to schedule appointments as they become available, based on vaccine supply. The County is administering approx. 1,000 vaccines per day Monday-Friday at the Sports & Learning Complex. Additional sites are expected to open over the next several weeks, including one in College Park and one in Laurel.
Individual health systems such as Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center and University of Maryland Capital Region Health/UMMS also have vaccines to distribute and have separate scheduling links. Luminis Health began distribution for phases 1A and 1B on Tuesday. Each hospital system has its own interest form, as noted.
As of last week, Prince George’s County had distributed 82% of all the vaccines received from the State. The Health Department received a new batch and is working to distribute these vaccine doses. Visit the Vaccine Dashboard for detailed information about vaccine distribution in the County.
My staff and I will continue to update you as we receive additional information.
Please try to be patient and please stay well.
Thomas E. Dernoga