Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan received his first COVID-19 vaccine Monday morning.
Hogan, his wife Yumi, Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford, Rutherford’s wife Monica and acting Deputy Health Secretary Dr. Jinlene Chan all received their first doses of the coronavirus vaccine at the statehouse in Annapolis.
“I did not even feel the needle go in,” Hogan said.
“I feel I could drop and give 100 pushups,” he joked after receiving the Moderna shot.
“We’re all looking forward to the day when we can take off and throw away our masks, when we can get all of our children back into school, and when we can go out for a big celebration at our favorite crowded restaurant or bar with all of our family and friends. The only way that we’re going to return to a sense of normalcy is by these COVID-19 vaccines,” Hogan said.
He said that, as of Monday, Maryland has administered more than 255,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
“We’re administering doses at a faster pace than we are currently receiving them from the federal government,” he said.
Hogan said he understands the frustration people are feeling about the vaccine rollout not moving fast enough.
“We need 12 million doses. We have 500,000. This is a brand new thing. It’s the largest peacetime undertaking ever in America. So it’s going to take a while to ramp up. This is happening all across the country. It’s not going to happen overnight. We were supposed to move into Phase 1B and C in March. We’re moving in January. So we’re ahead of schedule.”
Residents who are 75 or older can get vaccinated beginning Monday, as can teachers and school staff, child care providers, residents of assisted living facilities and others in high risk groups.
Next week, the list of those eligible for a vaccine is expected to expand to include people over 65 and workers in critical sectors, including grocery, transit and agriculture.
