Montgomery County, Maryland, officials said Monday that the county’s vaccine allocation from the state has decreased by about 1,000 from the previous week.
In Montgomery County, Maryland, officials said Monday that the county’s vaccine allocation from the state last week decreased by about 1,000 from the previous week, and ‘We do not have a good explanation’ why.
This was the word of the province’s director of health and human services, dr. Raymond Crowel, during an online briefing Monday.
Montgomery County Council President Tom Hucker said, “We can vaccinate more than 25,000 residents a week if the state just gives us the doses.”
Hucker, Crowel and council vice-president Gabe Albornoz also said they had “concerns”, though no hard evidence, that the mass vaccination sites the state opened last week were taking away the provincial awards.
Asked if Montgomery County would be on the list for any mass vaccination sites in the near future, Crowel said, “We have discussed the issue” with Government Larry Hogan, but that “to my knowledge he does not have a made a commitment. “
According to Hucker, Montgomery County is home to 17% of Maryland’s population and 73,000 people over the age of 75, which is one of the first people supposed to receive vaccinations.
In a statement after the meeting, Hogan’s spokesman Mike Ricci said: ‘The official data show that the province is currently on more than 6,000 first doses … which gives them a lower administration rate than almost every country. ”
He added that officials are talking about the award for the department of public health and that ‘local departments are a facet of a growing distribution network. Awards are distributed fairly to each country by all suppliers to each country. ”
The health department in Howard County, Maryland, reported Sunday that they also received a smaller grant, 1,700 first doses of the Moderna vaccine, on Saturday. “It’s less than the 2000 last week, which was less than the 4500 the previous week.” They attributed the decline to an ongoing transition from local health departments that vaccinate their communities to local state-run mass clinics, retail pharmacies and clinics that operate clinics. ‘
Indoor dining
The county council will meet on Tuesday at 10 a.m. to vote on Marc Elrich, the executive officer’s order, which allows indoor eateries with a capacity of 25% and with a limit of 90 minutes, from Sunday. (Although it is an executive order, Hucker explained, it must be voted on so that it covers the entire province, including municipalities.)
The original start date was Tuesday, but Hucker said restaurants need the time to sharpen their operations for Sunday, which is Valentine’s Day, and probably a big day for the industry.
Although Hucker said he supported the measure, he added that it was because the sluggish standards of other communities “defended” Montgomery County mitigation efforts, thus “it makes sense” to align themselves.
A one-stop shop
Provincial officials said they were looking forward to a conference with the state Department of Health officials on the distribution of vaccines, adding that they believe a one-time method of registering vaccinations is the best way to do so in the future. go.
“Establishing a single portal for all Marylanders to sign up for a place for vaccination” would be an ideal framework, “Crowel said, as long as there is a way to address equity in older and underserved populations.
Even a single-portal system at the provincial level ‘would simplify things a lot’, he said, rather than the current system in which people could enroll in the country, with private providers and more.
Albornoz agrees, calling the current system ‘extremely frustrating’ and leading to ‘chaos’ at ‘a level I have not seen in government for 14 years.’
“Whoever has digital access and has fast fingers” can come to the state yard, Crowel said.
“Whoever has a car and a way to start work,” Hucker added.
Albornoz also said that a one-stop system would be better for people who do not speak English, who do not have technological capabilities and who do not have hours to spend.
Teachers
Crowel said teachers in the province are being called in to get their vaccines according to a priority list provided by the school department.
That said, he urged teachers to find their own vaccines if they could: ‘I would not tell anyone to just wait in line. … If it’s going to take a while … I think it’s appropriate. ‘
He added that he had ‘very helpful conversations’ with the Vaccine Hunters group, which helps people negotiate the process. They have achieved ‘any success’, ‘Crowel said, and’ we absolutely want to build that relationship. ‘
Hucker also said the team of workers who helped Montgomery County residents sign up for the 2020 census was reformed to go to communities to determine where the outreach should be targeted.
Hucker added that the state leadership has improved the COVID-19 financial aid package to $ 1.9 billion, but “it is still somewhat inadequate,” and hopes the House will improve the Senate bill.
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