April 5, 2021
Dear Neighbor,
Starting tomorrow, all Marylanders age 16 and over will be eligible for vaccines at state mass vaccination sites. Starting Monday, April 12th, all vaccine locations will be required to vaccinate anyone 16 and older.
The walk-in line at the Salisbury mass vaccination site saw 500 people on Friday. Clearly, there is high demand for this "no appointment" option. In addition to Salisbury, starting TOMORROW, the Hagerstown mass vaccination site will accept walk-ins as well. The M&T Stadium location will open to walk-ins next week.
In addition, all state mass vaccination sites (including the new Germantown location) will accept some walk-ins in the near future (dates TBD, stay tuned).
Appointments are still recommended, as vaccines for walk-ins are not guaranteed.
Only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for 16 and 17-year-olds. Appointments for state mass vax centers will keep this limitation in mind when offering appointments to those who are pre-registered. If you are scheduling at a pharmacy or hospital you will need to find one that utilizes Pfizer. Check this CDC
website for help locating specific vaccines.
Why the changes?
42% of Marylanders over age 18 are now already vaccinated. Maryland has been vaccinating more than 61,000 people a day. While it took us more than 2 months to give our first million shots, and twenty-seven days to give our second million, we have vaccinated our third million in just 19 days. Things are really speeding up. We need to vaccinate people quickly in our race against the variants.
To schedule an appointment at a state mass vaccination site, call 1-855-634-6829 or pre-register at
covidvax.maryland.gov. In the last week, about 500,000 people ages 16 and over have pre-registered, so it still may take a few weeks to get an appointment. For appointments at pharmacies or hospitals, use my
VACCINE RESOURCE LIST.
Happy Monday!
