Howard County marked a major coronavirus vaccine milestone and now leads Maryland with the most residents vaccinated, according to Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. Ball said 80% of Howard County’s eligible residents are fully vaccinated for the coronavirus. He said, according to Maryland Health Department data, this makes it the first county in Maryland to reach that milestone. Right now, everyone 12 and up is currently eligible to get the vaccine. “With the recent uptick of COVID-19 cases and the spreading of these variants, it has become abundantly clear how important it is to get vaccinated,” Ball said in a Facebook post. “Let’s continue to lead the way.”

Slightly over two-thirds of Howard County’s total population is now fully vaccinated. And 84.7% of county residents 12 and up have received at least one dose of the vaccine, Ball said.

Montgomery, Frederick, Baltimore and Talbot counties round out the top five with the most residents fully vaccinated. “This could not have been accomplished alone, and I want to thank our first responders, health care workers, volunteers, and state partners who have worked tirelessly on the front lines since December to get vaccines into arms,” Ball said. “These metrics indicate what we all know — when times are tough, our community comes together to take care and support each other.” According to Maryland’s vaccine dashboard, at least 77% of those 18 and up in Maryland have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.