The county executive for Howard County, Maryland, announced a public-private partnership with Safeway on Wednesday aimed at getting more residents vaccinated, especially students 18 and older.
County Executive Calvin Ball said the goal is to raise the number of Howard County residents between the ages of 18 and 24 who have been vaccinated — currently around 50% of that population in the county has received at least one dose.
“… our hope is many of these young people will encourage their peers, family, and friends to see the benefits of being vaccinated as well,” Ball said in a statement.
Safeway has provided 4,000 total doses to give to residents and students. The Meadowbrook Athletic Center was allocated 1,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday.
Students in the Howard County public school system, private schools, Howard County Community College and local trade schools are prioritized to receive the vaccine.
Vaccination site at Mall of Columbia opens Friday
Howard County will be home of Maryland’s 13th mass vaccination site starting Saturday.
In a press release, the site will operate out of the former Lord & Taylor store space in The Mall of Columbia. It will have a soft opening Friday on an appointment-only basis; the site will open weekly from Wednesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and administer 1,000 doses a day.
It will have the ability to go as high as 3,000 a day, depending on supply.
“Howard County is a central location in Maryland and easily accessible to many residents from across the state,” Ball said in the release. “We worked diligently with the Governor and our State partners to finalize logistical details and agreements for this site, and are excited to see it open this week.”
Unlike some of the state’s mass vaccination sites, walk-ups appointments are not currently allowed at the Columbia Mall location. Residents are asked to register by calling by calling 1 (855) MD-GOVAX or by visiting Maryland’s vaccination website.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this story.
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