WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the State of Maryland laid out its most detailed plans yet for distribution of the coronavirus vaccine as officials said doses could begin arriving as early as next week.
Dr. Jinlene Chan, acting deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, spoke at length during Gov. Larry Hogan’s weekly coronavirus briefing about how the state will distribute the first batch of 155,000 vaccine doses.
Chan said the state had broken up the population into four priority groups. The first phase of vaccines will go to people in groups 1A (health care workers, residents/staff of long-term care facilities and first responders) and 1B (people at high-risk of severe COVID-19 illness).
Phase 2 includes people in critical, essential infrastructure roles and people at moderately higher risk of severe COIVD-19 illness.
In Phase 3, the general population will begin receiving doses of the vaccine.
Chan said the FDA Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday to review the data on Pfizer’s vaccine and make a recommendation to the agency. If approved, the first doses could reach Maryland next week.
A second vaccine, being developed by Moderna, is set for an FDA Advisory Committee review on Dec. 17.
Chan also began addressing some of the most common questions she said the health department has been receiving about the vaccine. Find answers to some of those questions below:
Is the vaccine safe? Are there potential side effects?
Chan said Pfizer enrolled 40,000 people, and Moderna 30,000, in the vaccine trials, taking special care to enroll a diverse group of participants.
“We believe the efficacy is consistent across race and age groups,” she said.
As for side effects, Chan said 10-15% of people who receive the vaccine can expect “mild to moderate impacts” like pain at the injection site, headache, fever and muscle and joint aches.
Is the vaccine safe for children?
Chan said the FDA is expected to give initial approval only for adults to receive the vaccine at first, as clinical trials have not included children thus far. Chan said trials were beginning to enroll children as young as 12.
When can I pre-register for the vaccine?
Chan and Hogan said the state would be rolling out a vaccine registration portal in the coming weeks. Health care providers will be able to order the vaccine directly from the federal government using the state’s existing ImmuNet system.
As soon as the vaccine is available, Hogan said he and Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford would be taking it publicly to help boost confidence in it – all part of a “confidence campaign” the state will undertake to get as many people vaccinated as possible. That campaign includes things like:
- Hyperlocal, targeted outreach with trusted community voices
- Releasing easy-to-understand language about expected side effects
- Providing rumor control and addressing misinformation on social media
“We’ve got to convince people to do it or we’re not going to be able to stop the spread,” Hogan said.
Assuming the FDA does approve both vaccine candidates, Hogan said he thinks Maryland could receive as many as 300,000 doses by the end of the year – which would be enough to cover the state’s health care workforce.