COVID Testing Center In Baltimore Closes As Hospitalizations Drop

BALTIMORE, MD — The State Center Vaccination, Testing, and Treatment Site that offered free COVID-19 services for more than a year will close on Saturday, Feb. 25, officials said in a news release.

The site at 300 W. Preston St. opened in November 2021 and offered free vaccinations and boosters, on-site testing services, at-home tests and KN95 masks to residents of all ages.

“This unprecedented public health emergency created a historic partnership that has helped thousands of Marylanders get the COVID services they need, without barriers of any kind,” said Maryland Department of Health secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott in a statement. “It is a testament to the amazing work that so many have done here that we are now able to transition COVID services back to local health departments and health systems, knowing that Maryland is in good hands with our medical professionals and local partners statewide.”

The site opened to replace COVID services that had been housed at the Baltimore Convention Center Field Hospital.

The State Center site was operated jointly by MDH, University of Maryland Medical System, and Johns Hopkins Medicine.

More than 40,000 COVID tests were done and more than 12,000 vaccinations given at the state site. Since it was established, the task force running it has completed more than 160,000 COVID tests, administered more than 137,000 COVID vaccinations, and prescribed Paxlovid oral antiviral treatment to more than 1,700 patients.

With hospitalizations from COVID down nearly 50 percent since the recent high in January 2023, and the end of the federal Public Health Emergency in May 2023, MDH is consolidating state-led COVID-19 services to focus on other important public health concerns, including health disparities, behavioral health, and substance use disorders.

Baltimore residents who need free COVID testing and vaccinations can find opportunities Monday through Friday through the Baltimore City Health Department and its community partners.

More than 300 COVID testing sites statewide are listed on covidVAX.maryland.gov and covidTEST.maryland.gov, or by calling the GoVAX Call Center at 855-MD-GOVAX.

For test to treat services, Baltimore residents should speak to their health care provider or call 410-649-6122 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by completing the online self-referral form.

“It has been an honor for our team to build and be a part of this partnership for the past three years,” said Chuck Callahan, DO, director of the local COVID Task Force and vice president of Population Health for the University of Maryland Medical Center. “With the support of Baltimore’s two academic centers, this tireless team has become a national example of the ideal public-private partnership focusing on access and equity as well as education, and scientific research. Maryland has demonstrated a proven model for the future of public health pandemic response in the U.S.”

“Establishing, operating and maintaining the BCCFH throughout this unprecedented pandemic has been a privilege for us,” said Mindy Kantsiper, MD, Deputy Director of the BCCFH COVID Task Force and Associate Vice Chair for Inpatient Quality and Safety, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. “Through this collaboration, we have been able to test, vaccinate and care for so many members of our community during a time when it was most needed. Our motto has been 'One Team. One Fight,' and we know that our work will be remembered as part of Maryland's response to the pandemic."