Montgomery County officials are asking the state of Maryland to establish a mass vaccination site COVID-19 in the county.
Montgomery County officials are asking the state of Maryland to establish a mass vaccination site COVID-19 in the county amid “significant concerns” about how the state is allocating a still extremely limited stock of vaccines.
County health officer Dr. Travis Gayles, who voiced his concerns about an ever-decreasing share of vaccine doses sent to the county health department in favor of other providers, such as pharmacies, asked state health officials to consider a mass vaccination site in the county.
“We have websites. Let’s talk about it, ”said Gayles, suggesting the county fairgrounds as an option for a mass vaccination site.
Gayles spoke during a town council hearing on Tuesday, at which Maryland Deputy Secretary of Health Jinlene Chan also attended.
A mass vaccination site opened on Friday in Six Flags America, in neighboring Prince George County, and is increasing to 2,000 vaccinations a day. Although the photos on the first day were reserved for Prince George County residents, the site is now open to all Maryland residents – although bookings remain limited.
“It is incredibly challenging to expect our residents to go to another jurisdiction and to assume that they will have access there,” said Gayles.
As an alternative to opening a separate mass vaccination site in Montgomery County, however, Gayles also proposed to reserve a certain percentage of available time at Six Flags specifically for Montgomery County residents.
Three county council members also pressured Chan to commit to establishing a mass vaccination site in the county.
“It is illogical not to have something like this in the highest jurisdiction in the state,” said councilwoman Nancy Navarro, who represents District 4.
Chan said the state is open to considering additional mass vaccination sites, but has made no promises to council members.
In addition to the Six Flags location in Prince George’s County, another location opened last week at the Baltimore Convention Center.
Other locations are already planned on the east coast and in southern and western Maryland.
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Defense of state allocations
During his appearance, Chan defended the distribution of vaccines in Montgomery County, saying that sending doses of vaccines to various pharmacies and hospitals – which had the effect of reducing doses to the county health department – is to build infrastructure for when the limited supply of doses increases significantly.
Increasing doses at Giant and Safeway pharmacies, as well as in county hospitals “is part of our long-term strategy to begin establishing the basis for vaccination capacity across the state,” said Chan.
The state is taking a “countywide approach” in deciding where and how much of the vaccine doses to distribute – not just to local health departments, but also to other providers.
Amid concerns that vaccines are not accessible to the most vulnerable, Chan said the state official took equity issues into account when deciding which pharmacies to partner with to distribute the vaccines.
“We look at where COVID-19 has impacted communities the most, as well as racial and socioeconomic status within specific CEPs and others, and we use this to help guide some of the initial selections,” said Chan, adding, “what we are trying to do is establish multiple layers of vaccination hotspots. “
But Gayles said the increase in doses sent to other providers at the expense of county-controlled doses is worrying, because, he said, the data shows that local health departments have a better track record than retail pharmacies in getting vaccines. in people’s arms.
This week, the county saw its supply of vaccine doses cut from 5,500 to 4,500.
Last week, the county was receiving more than 7,000 first doses of vaccines in a few weeks.
Is Montgomery Co. getting its fair share?
Council members pressured Chan over the general allocation of county vaccine doses, arguing that Montgomery County does not appear to be getting its fair share.
Council President Tom Hucker pointed to the state’s own data that showed, he said, that the state’s top five jurisdictions – Montgomery, Prince George’s, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties and the city of Baltimore – are getting the fewest per capita doses.
Five of the state’s smallest counties – Kent, Somerset, Garrett, Talbot and Caroline counties – are receiving the most doses per capita.
“That would be a big problem if we were just talking about something like money for transportation, but it is unfair, since we are talking about vaccines,” said Hucker.
Chan said the disparity per capita stems from the early days of the vaccination effort at the end of last year. The state has established a “floor” of 300 doses per week due to limited supply.
“It seemed proportionately, per capita, to be larger” for smaller counties, she acknowledged, but added that the state continues to “evolve this process.”
No single sign-up site, state says
State health officials were also urged to create a single statewide registration to register for a vaccine appointment in Maryland.
At-Large Council member Evan Glass said he heard of county residents who register at all hospitals and pharmacies, desperately looking for an open consultation.
“Why isn’t the state taking a more centralized approach to registration, a one-stop shop, where people can enter all of their information and then be assigned to one of the vaccine providers in their area?” he asked.
Heather Shek, deputy director of the Maryland Department of Health’s Government Affairs Office, said she recognized Maryland residents’ frustration at not having access to consultations. But she said that only four other states are using a centralized system to schedule vaccinations.
“So I think this notion that Maryland is different and that we should move towards that system is a little misinformed because not many other states are doing this,” said Shek. “We looked at this approach, and our healthcare system is not set up for a centralized system.”
Shek said the four states that use a centralized system are Oklahoma, New Hampshire, New Mexico and West Virginia – the last of which was hailed for its rapid rate of vaccination.
Having multiple ways to schedule an appointment, each maintained by a separate provider “allows for agility and scheduling changes,” said Shek.
“There is no single point of failure,” she added. “When we have several options for people to sign up, it is no longer a bottleneck or a major system failure occurs.”
In the end, Shek said the state’s system is working, because vaccinations are increasing – from about 2,000 vaccines administered at the start of the effort to an average of more than 22,000 per day today.