ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan and First Lady Yumi Hogan toured a Maryland Vaccine Equity Task Force clinic in partnership with the Howard County Health Department, Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, and Bethel Korean Presbyterian Church in Ellicott City. The governor and first lady were joined by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball; Secretary Dennis Schrader of the Maryland Department of Health; Brigadier General Janeen L. Birckhead, head of the Maryland Vaccine Equity Task Force; and local faith leaders.
“This pandemic is not behind us, but we are making tremendous progress thanks to state and local partnerships like this one,” said Governor Hogan. “We have 11,400 people who are involved in giving vaccines across the state. We have administered a total of 3.6 million vaccines, 80% of all the people over 65 years of age and 50% of all the people over 18 have received a vaccine. Our goal is to not leave any arms behind.”
The outreach by Bridgeway Church and Bethel Korean Presbyterian Church expands upon efforts to bring vaccines to hard-to-reach areas and educate Marylanders about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. Through this multi-community, faith-based collaboration, a total of 1,000 vaccines are expected to be administered to Howard County residents, including 200 doses today.
Last week, Governor Hogan joined faith leaders to recognize the important role of faith-based and community-based institutions in the distribution of vaccines across the state. As of today, a total of 31,522 vaccines have been administered at clinics supported through the Vaccine Equity Task Force.
