Garrett County Following Maryland’s Lead in Vaccination Priorities
By Garrett County Joint Information Center Team
Governor Larry Hogan announced in a press conference on Thursday that Maryland will open up Phase 2 COVID-19 vaccination eligibility in waves based on risk factors, including age, essential occupations, and underlying health conditions.
Garrett County is currently offering appointments to people using information collected from the Garrett County COVID-19 Vaccination Interest Form launched last week on garretthealth.org. A one-time use invitation is being emailed to interested persons in the priority order as listed on the website, which follows the pyramid released from the state. Persons without email addresses are being called.
The Governor’s announcement now makes additional persons eligible for vaccination on the specific date listed for each phase. However, vaccine availability continues to be lower than current demand, so eligibility does not mean appointments will immediately be available.
Phase 2A: Tuesday, March 23. Eligibility opens for residents age 60 and older. According to Maryland Department of Health data, nearly 90% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths are in the 60+ age range.
Phase 2B: Tuesday, March 30. Eligibility opens for residents age 16 and older with underlying medical conditions that increase the risk for severe COVID-19 illness. According to CDC data, nearly 90% of individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 have an underlying medical condition.
Phase 2C: Tuesday, April 13. Eligibility opens for residents age 55 and older, as well as essential worker in critical industries, including food services (i.e. restaurant workers), utilities, construction workers, transportation, financial services, IT, and other infrastructure.
Phase 3: Tuesday, April 27. Eligibility opens for all residents 16 and older.
Anyone living in Garrett County and wishing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine should visit garretthealth.org to fill out the Garrett County COVID-19 Vaccination Interest Form. The form may be filled out by any Garrett County resident, regardless of their current qualification status. For those unable to access the interest form, call 301-334-7698 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for assistance.
NOTE: Completing the interest form does NOT create an appointment to be vaccinated. It may take several weeks, or longer, until participants are contacted to schedule an appointment because of limited vaccine supply.
For all other COVID-19 related questions, or to report a COVID-19 compliance issue, call the local COVID-19 Hotline number at 301-334-7698.
