Maryland will open its first two planned COVID-19 mass vaccination sites — one in Prince George’s County and one in Baltimore City on Friday — but residents’ expectations for getting an immediate shot are being tempered.
The sites opening are at Six Flags America in Prince George’s County and the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore.
Vaccine supply has been a major roadblock in the state’s vaccination rollout plan, and it’s not clear how many doses would be available at these sites.
For the Six Flags America site, there are no details yet on how people can make appointments. So far, Maryland is doing initial outreach for vaccine appointments for those preregistered with Prince George’s County, the governor’s office said in a news release. Then, when that outreach is finished, more appointments through Feb. 15 will be available to eligible Marylanders.
“Due to high demand and very limited supply from the federal government, appointments are expected to fill up quickly,” Gov. Larry Hogan’s office said in a statement Thursday.
The Six Flags America site is opening through a partnership with the Maryland Department of Health, the Maryland National Guard and Kaiser Permanente. Hogan will visit the site Friday for its “soft launch” with County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
The Baltimore Convention Center site is in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical System and Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Marylanders must register for an appointment there. If you need help registering for an appointment, you can call (410) 328-9865 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Again, residents are being warned of limited vaccine supply and wait times between submitting a request for an appointment and receiving an initiation to schedule.
The state is also planning on launching a toll-free call center on Monday, Feb. 15 to help out with making appointments at the mass vaccination sites.
More mass vaccination sites are coming. The M&T Bank Stadium site will open in mid-February. There are also plans for sites in western Maryland, southern Maryland and on the Eastern Shore.
More than 600,000 vaccine doses have been administered in Maryland so far, of the more than 900,000 doses distributed.
In the coming weeks, the Biden administration has said that it plans on boosting COVID-19 vaccine distribution to states.
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