Distribution is Not Equitable, Mayor and Council’s Letter Said
Maryland must make more COVID-19 vaccine doses available to Montgomery County residents, the Mayor and Council wrote in a Jan. 26 letter to the state.
“The City is deeply concerned about the low number of vaccines that are being distributed to the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), relative to other Maryland jurisdictions,” the letter said.
Rockville’s Mayor and Council sent a letter to Gov. Larry Hogan and acting state health Secretary Dennis Schrader on Jan. 26 calling on the state to make more COVID-19 vaccination doses available for Montgomery County.
“According to the DHHS, in the most recent week they received only 7,300 first doses. Montgomery is the most heavily populated County in the State, with the second highest caseload numbers, at 57,129 (1/25), and a disproportionate concentration of healthcare workers; yet, others are receiving a higher per capita distribution of vaccines. It is critical that the State take these factors into account and make the distribution more equitable.”
The Mayor and Council also expressed “significant concerns regarding the communication of the State’s vaccine distribution and registration process” and requested detailed information about pilot distribution sites at Giant Food and Walmart stores.
“It is our goal to share as much vaccine information with our residents as possible, so that they can access these critical services,” the letter said. “The vaccines will not only save lives, but are the key to economic recovery, and returning to some level of normalcy in our great State.”