Gov. Hogan: Initial COVID-19 Vaccine Will Not Cover 300K Maryland Healthcare Workers
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Sticking with the recommendations from the CDC, Gov. Larry Hogan said when a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, certain essential healthcare workers will be the first to get it.
Gov. Hogan spoke about it Thursday on Good Morning America.
"We've got about 300,000 of those, so our plan which we submitted to the CDC prioritizes the most vulnerable," the governor said. "So our frontline healthcare workers, our nursing homes, then first responders. As they come in, we just start working our way down that pyramid of a list."
Plans to distribute a vaccine comes as the virus continues to spread in the state. Forty-eight people died in Maryland in the last 24 hours, the most in months.
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In Thursday's data, hospitalizations dropped slightly, but the number of people in the ICU was at the highest level since June. The state's positivity rate is well over 7 percent.
The initial delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine could come in mid-December after FDA approval, but Gov. Hogan said that will not be enough for the 300,000 frontline healthcare workers in the state.
Gov. Hogan, along with many healthcare officials, is reminding people to stay vigilant because the vaccine may not be widely available for months.
"Sadly, the darkest days are yet ahead, and hearing the statistics you were just talking about earlier, the worst part of this virus is still coming in the weeks and maybe the month or two to come, Gov. Hogan said.
Once the vaccine is widely available, health officials said they're desperate to reassure the general public that it is safe.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
