MD Patch Survey: Will You Take The Coronavirus Vaccine?

MARYLAND — The Pfizer vaccine will be rolled out in the U.K. this week after authorities there approved it last week. Pfizer and Moderna, both of which have developed vaccines for COVID-19, have applied to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency administration in the United States.

The FDA is expected to meet Thursday to discuss emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to use on people 16 and older. It will also convene Dec. 17 to discuss authorization for the Moderna vaccine, which could be used on those 18 and up.

"If the vaccine is approved on the 10th or the 11th, the minute it's approved the shipments will start," Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Moncef Slaou said on the CBS Show "Face the Nation" over the weekend. "Within, I would say, 36 hours from approval, potentially the first immunization could be taking place."

Gov. Larry Hogan will hold a briefing at 3 p.m. Tuesday about vaccination plans in Maryland.

"The good news is they have vaccines that are years ahead of schedule, and we’ll get some relatively fast," Hogan said at a news conference Dec. 1. "The bad news is it is not enough. So we have very difficult decisions which we’ll get into our next press conference about the implementation and rollout of the plan."

His lieutenant governor reported the state had an idea of who would get it first when the vaccine arrives.

"We’re expecting it probably as early as mid-December," Lt. Boyd Rutherford said at last week's Board of Public Works meeting, speaking of the coronavirus vaccine. "The priority is going to be our front-line health care workers." Next will be staff in nursing homes, he said.

"We’re only going to get a small amount," Rutherford said of the vaccine.

Acting Harford County Health Officer Marcy Austin said the vaccine is slated to arrive in Maryland around Dec. 14.

"However, we are unsure of the number of doses that will be provided to Maryland," Austin said during a Dec. 1 briefing before the Harford County Council. For full immunization, two doses are required 21 days apart. "In order to receive the Pfizer vaccine, a health department must have 975 vaccine recipients registered for a clinic. This is the number of doses one shipment holds."

About 65 percent of Marylanders are very likely or somewhat likely to get a COVID-19 vaccination when the vaccine is available, according to a survey conducted Nov. 16 to 23 by the University of Maryland Medical System.

That is up from a poll conducted the month before — an October Goucher poll estimated that half the state would refuse the immunization if it were approved that day.

At least 70 percent of the population needs to get vaccinated to sufficiently fight the virus, state officials have said.

"The hope is that 70 percent of the population will take the vaccine," Rutherford said. "If we can get to 70 percent, that can basically quash the pandemic.”

Will you get the vaccine when it becomes available? Take part in Patch's survey, which will close at noon Wednesday, Dec. 9:

See Also:

• Half Of All Marylanders Would Refuse Coronavirus Vaccine: Poll
• MD Will Get 155K Coronavirus Vaccines In 1st Wave, Hogan Explains
• MD Needs 2K To 3K Health Care Workers For COVID Hospital Surge
• Senators Urge Federal Funding For State Distribution Of COVID-19 Vaccine