COVID-19 Vaccination Updates and Information

Third Maryland Mass Vaccination Site Opens; County Council to Hold a Town Hall re: Vaccinations on Feb. 25; Vaccination Scam Alert

Registration Opens For M&T Bank Stadium
Mass Vaccination Site

State’s Next Mass Vaccination Site Opens This Thursday

Appointments Will Be Made Available on a Rolling Basis

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today announced that registration opened this morning for eligible Marylanders to schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments at the state’s newest mass vaccination site, which opens this Thursday, February 25 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore City.

“The opening of our next state-run mass vaccination site is another milestone toward ending this pandemic,” said Governor Hogan. “I want to thank all of our partners who have worked to convert M&T Bank Stadium into a mass vaccination site. As supply increases, this site will serve thousands of Marylanders each day.”

Operational support is being provided for the site by the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), in partnership with the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), the Maryland National Guard (MDNG), the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA), and the Baltimore Ravens.

Initially, between 250 and 500 vaccination appointments will be available on the first several days during the soft launch phase of the M&T Bank Stadium Mass Vaccination Site, with plans to provide up to 2,000 vaccinations per day in early March. A limited number of appointment slots was made available this morning, and additional appointments will be made available on a rolling basis.

Individuals must complete a new registration specifically for the M&T Bank Stadium Mass Vaccination site, which will offer vaccinations to those who are eligible in Phases 1A, 1B, and 1C. Eligible individuals have two options for making an appointment:

Completing the online form available at covidvax.maryland.gov.
Calling 855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829) to request an appointment, where representatives are available seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Individuals should expect potential prolonged wait times on the phone due to call volume.

“We are proud to continue our collaborative efforts with the state to provide vaccinations for Marylanders who recognize that vaccines provide hope for saving lives and bringing an end to this pandemic,” said Mohan Suntha, M.D., MBA, president and CEO of UMMS. “This is another example of how the private and public sectors can join forces to support and protect our residents.”

The M&T Bank Stadium Mass Vaccination Site will have a soft opening on Thursday, February 25 and Friday, February 26, with appointments scheduled between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.. On Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February 28, appointments will be scheduled both days between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. On Monday, March 1, the site will be open between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and beginning on Tuesday, March 2, the site’s hours will be between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., seven days a week. Vaccinations will be by appointment only; there will be no walk-ups.

M&T Bank Stadium is located near the Inner Harbor at 1101 Russell Street and is accessible by many forms of public transportation. For vaccine appointments, free parking is available at Lot B, which includes parking spaces for people with disabilities. Individuals should enter the stadium at Gate A on Hamburg Street by the statues of Ray Lewis and Johnny Unitas.

Earlier this month, the state opened mass vaccination sites at Six Flags America in Prince George’s County, in a partnership between the MDH, the MDNG, and Kaiser Permanente, and at the Baltimore Convention Center Field Hospital site in partnership with the UMMS and Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Locations for mass vaccination sites in Western Maryland, Southern Maryland, and on the Eastern Shore are being finalized. Each site will receive its own allocation of doses separate from what is already being allocated to providers.

Mass vaccination sites are supplemented by hospitals, neighborhood pharmacies, and county health departments as part of an expanding distribution network. More than 200 providers are now listed on covidvax.maryland.gov, where you can search to find a vaccination clinic near you, or call 211 for assistance. Vaccinations are by appointment only, and some providers may allow you to pre-register.

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Virtual Community Town Hall with Public Health Leaders Focused on COVID-19 Vaccinations

Hosted by the Montgomery County Council on

Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 19, 2021— The Montgomery County Council will hold a virtual town hall meeting on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. focused on the COVID-19 vaccination program in our community. Joining the meeting will be Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Health Officer and Chief of the Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Services Dr. Travis Gayles, Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director Dr. Earl Stoddard and other public health representatives.

This town hall will provide the latest information about the ongoing vaccination efforts in Montgomery County, describe the latest priority order for vaccinations provided by the state government based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and give residents a forum to get their specific questions answered directly by public health representatives.

“This is a great opportunity for the public to hear directly from our County’s top health officials and get their questions answered surrounding the Covid-19 vaccine,” Council President Tom Hucker said. “It is important to have these discussions so that we can hear our residents' concerns and provide clarity on what the County is doing to ensure an equitable and efficient rollout of vaccines for Montgomery County residents.”

“The County’s elected leadership and health officials remain dedicated to the well being of our entire community,” said Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz. “It is vital that we continue to engage in open dialogue with our residents and maintain a transparent and equitable distribution of vaccines in order to safeguard public health for all.”
The members of the 19th Montgomery County Council include: Council President Hucker, Council Vice President Albornoz and Councilmembers, Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass, Will Jawando, Nancy Navarro, Craig Rice, Sidney Katz and Hans Riemer. You can learn more about the Council and each of its members by visiting the Council’s web page at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL .

The virtual town hall will be held through a Zoom webinar. Community members are encouraged to attend and ask their questions and voice their concerns. Interpretation services will be provided for community members who speak Spanish. The meeting will be moderated by the Council's Communications Specialist Susan Kenedy.
Answers to frequently asked questions from the previous town hall meeting can be found here.

Community members must register ahead of time to participate in the virtual town hall through Zoom by going to: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qRSePcsiRBGIzK6bYEydtA

The Council must receive your registration by Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. Residents will receive an email confirmation with the appropriate Zoom information to participate. Residents without internet access can call 240-777-7931 and leave a message with their full name, phone number and email to register.

The virtual town hall meeting will be televised on County Cable Montgomery on channels 30 (Fios), 1056 (RCN) and 996 (Xfinity). The meeting will be streamed on Facebook (MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil) and YouTube (MoCoCouncilMd). Residents also can listen to the virtual town hall meeting by calling 240-777-3333.

For more general information about the meeting contact Juan Jovel at Juan.Jovel@montgomerycountymd.gov or call 240-777-7931. If you need assistance to participate in this meeting or in any Council activity, please contact the Council as far in advance as possible at 240-777-7900 or send an email to County.Council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

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COVID-19-Related Scams Targeting County Residents Is Being Exposed by the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection

The COVID-19 health crisis in itself has been quite a hardship, but recently, residents have found themselves as the targets of scams related to the virus threat. Now the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection is providing information on how to identify those scams on the County’s COVID-19 comprehensive website. Among the scams identified are ones regarding bogus products, fake testing sites and vaccine availability. The scams are being directed toward consumers via email, texting and telephone. In most cases, the attention-getting scams seek to have innocent residents provide the scammers with funds for services or products that do not actually exist. In other cases, fake or stolen vaccines may be offered on the “dark net.”

Numerous new “phishing” scams have been devised by scammers to take advantage of consumers seeking information on how to preregister for vaccines—or how to get around the systems that have been set up by local governments, health care systems or private pharmacies. The deceptive email messages seek to trick consumers into providing their Social Security numbers, credit card information or bank information.

County Executive Marc Elrich and County Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz have identified a need to warn consumers about the increasing number of scams and called upon the County to include financial protection information in conjunction with health information.

“Responding to the numerous health and financial related challenges caused by the current pandemic requires Montgomery County to establish multidisciplinary teams and experts to collaborate and take action,” said County Executive Elrich. “We recognize that scammers seek to exploit news events and cause financial harm to consumers and businesses. Accordingly, in addition to providing information about vaccines and testing, we also need to provide alerts to prevent residents from becoming the targets and victims of COVID-19-related scams that may cause financial harm.”

A new video on COVID-19-related scams was released today and can be viewed at https://youtu.be/XlX6rRxxVN0.

Information about the scams can be found at the County COVID-19 information website at https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/.

“In the wake of COVID-19, scammers are finding new ways to cause financial and irreparable harm,” said Council Vice President Albornoz. “During the past several months, we have seen a dramatic increase of fraudulent vaccination sites, robocalls, and phishing scams targeting County residents, especially our most vulnerable. We must continue to do all that we can to end these criminal practices and protect our residents.”

Office of Consumer Protection Director Eric Friedman said: “These scammers are clever and opportunistic. They seek to turn the latest news events into scams that exploit consumer fears and concerns regarding the coronavirus.”

To prevent interaction with scammers, Director Friedman advises residents to rely on information provided by the County’s official website. Among the information available is:

General information about COVID-19 and its impact on County residents is available at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/
The preregistration link for vaccines provided at County Government-operated clinics can be found at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/
Information from the Federal Trade Commission on steps consumers can take to protect themselves from COVID-related scams can be found at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2021/01/scammers-cash-covid-19-vaccination-confusion
Information regarding common COVID-19 scams can be found at: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/ocp/#Scam

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