Here's How Many Howard County Residents Have Been Vaccinated

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Although the coronavirus vaccine has been in limited supply, as of March 17, 84,470 Howard County residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 45,388 people have been fully vaccinated. There have been 16,630 total coronavirus cases so far as of March 17 and there are 8,738 active cases.

The Howard County Health Department will begin scheduling vaccine appointments for all groups in Phase 1C starting March 22. All phases are eligible now to pre-register for vaccines.

Per the governor's guidance, Phase 1C includes:

• Adults aged 65-74
• Essential healthcare workers not in Phase 1A
• Critical manufacturing workers
• U.S. Postal Service and mass public transit workers
• Veterinarian and support staff
• Clergy/other essential staff for houses of worship
• Food/agriculture production workers
• Grocery store and food bank workers
• Certain immunocompromised individuals

Beginning March 23, all residents ages 60 and older will be eligible.Beginning March 30, all residents 16 and older who have underlying medical conditions that increase the risk for severe COVID-19 illness will be eligible.Beginning April 13, the following groups will be eligible:

• Residents ages 55+
• Workers in the following areas:

* Essential construction
* Food services
* Utilities
* Transportation
* Financial
* IT workers

Beginning April 27, all residents ages 16 and older will be eligible.

Maura J. Rossman, health officer for Howard County, said March 15 that metrics have trended upward this week. On March 14, the county's positivity rate was 3.75 percent and new case rate was 17.19 per 100,000.

"This concerning uptick may be attributed to delayed reporting and to an increase in COVID variants. The variants are more communicable, making spread easier. We can mitigate spread by continuing to adhere to wearing masks, avoiding gatherings and physically distancing," she said.

This week, the Howard County Health Department was allocated 2,000 first doses of Moderna. Several first dose and second dose clinics, and the Mobile Integrated Community Health team will be operating. Clinic registration links have been emailed to eligible preregistered individuals.

Residents in all phases who are interested in receiving the vaccine are encouraged to complete the county's vaccine interest survey at https://www.howardcountymd.gov/Departments/Health/MM-Alerts-and-Recalls/COVID-19-Vaccine.

Read more:

How To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In Howard County