As a new mass coronavirus vaccination site opened Thursday in Montgomery County, Maryland, people who planned to head to the site were given some advice from County Executive Marc Elrich.
“You don’t need to come into the building until 15 minutes before your appointment,” said Elrich, urging people not to stand in line.
Once you preregister online for an appointment at a mass vaccination site, you are eventually notified and given a specific appointment time.
Therefore, it is not necessary to stand in line with a big group of people because the site does not operate on a first-come, first-served basis, Elrich noted.
“People feel like if they don’t get in line they won’t get their shots,” he said. “You have actual appointments with times so you don’t need to get there two hours early.”
Maryland has had numerous mass vaccination sites up and running across the state, but the one that opened Thursday at the Montgomery College Germantown Campus was the first in Montgomery County, which is Maryland’s most populous county.
According to Elrich, nearly 400,000 people in the county have received at least one dose of the vaccine already.
Elrich said he hopes that number reaches 600,000 by May and 800,000 by June.
As mass vaccination sites are run by the state, Marylanders can be vaccinated at any of those sites regardless of where they live.
“All these sites are serving multiple counties,” Elrich said.
The goal at the new Germantown location is to administer at least 3,000 vaccine doses each day.
The site is reserving 25% of its doses specifically for Montgomery County residents.
That is also the case at the new vaccination site at the Greenbelt Metro station that opened this week. According to Elrich, 25% of the doses there are being set aside for Montgomery County residents as well.
On April 6, all Marylanders 16 and older became eligible to preregister at mass vaccination sites. On April 12, all Marylanders 16 and older will be eligible for vaccination through all providers.
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Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.
