By Garrett County Joint Information Center Team
Garrett County will be hosting a GoVAX mobile vaccination unit on the Southern end of Garrett County for the next two weeks.
The Maryland Department of Health (MDH), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), are partnering with Garrett County Health Department and Garrett County Emergency Management to make this mobile unit available for vaccinations.
The unit will be stationed at the GCC Technologies building in the Southern Garrett Business & Technology Park off of Route 135 across from 84 Lumber. Clinics will be operating from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday, April 26 through May 1, and again May 4-8.
Registering for appointments is recommended and links for scheduling time slots for next week are posted on garretthealth.org. Walk-ins may be accepted if vaccine supply allows. Links for the second week will be posted sometime next week. For assistance in making an appointment for the mobile clinic call the Health Department at 301-334-7698.
The mobile unit is funded and operated by FEMA and is staffed by trained vaccinators and clinical staff from county, state and federal agencies.
“Throughout this entire vaccine mission, we’ve been fighting two enemies: a virus and the inequities it has caused.” said Janice Barlow, Acting FEMA Region 3 Regional Administrator. “These mobile units will ensure that we reach the underserved in their neighborhoods, where they live, and bring us one step closer to winning the war against COVID-19.”
The 32-foot trailers are essentially rolling clinics with cold storage for vaccine doses, storage for administrative materials, staff office space and generators. The units have pop-out awnings and dividers to use for patient spaces. Vaccine will be administered on one side of the trailer and move to the opposite side for observation.
