***Note: As we begin to enter Phase 1B in the coming weeks, some vaccine clinics will continue to be limited to certain priority groups, like Howard County Residents ages 75+. We ask that you do not widely share registration links with those who would be ineligible for an appointment. These ineligible appointments take up slots reserved for our highest priority groups. Our team verifies all appointments before administering vaccine. If you make an appointment and are not part of a priority group, you will be turned away. Our team is working to organize clinics as quickly as our vaccine supply allows.***
Howard County Residents age 75+
The Howard County Health Department is getting ready to move to Vaccination Phase 1B and start providing vaccine to Howard County residents who are 75 years and older.
ALL HOWARD COUNTY RESIDENTS AGE 75+ that want to be vaccinated should complete our questionnaire and provide their contact information to the Health Department. Everyone who completes this survey will be added to our contact list. You will get a separate email with appointment and registration information.
If you are unable to complete the survey online, consider asking a friend, neighbor or family member for assistance. Those 75+ can also email [email protected] or call 410-313-6284 for assistance completing the survey.
Please note: You WILL NOT receive an appointment after completing the survey. You will be emailed in the next 10 days with additional instructions explaining how to make an appointment.
Spanish survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CoVaClinic75?lang=es
Korean survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CoVaClinic75?lang=ko
Howard County Residents ages 65-74
After prioritizing those most vulnerable adults age 75 and older, the Health Department will begin to open vaccinations to Howard County residents ages 65-74 in February. Howard County residents ages 65-74 who wish to join a separate contact list for Phase 1C vaccine availability should complete this survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CoVaClinic65).
Spanish survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CoVaClinic65?lang=es
Korean survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CoVaClinic65?lang=ko
Additional Phase 1B Groups
Additional surveys are being developed for other Phase 1B populations, including childcare workers and educators. The Howard County Health Department has begun by prioritizing older adult vulnerable populations. Phase 1B also includes the prioritization of "continuity of government" and "developmentally disabled populations." We are working collaboratively with partners to ensure eligible individuals are notified as supply becomes available.
Additional Resources
Provider Resources
For COVID-19 Vaccine resources for providers CLICK HERE.
New Approach to Vaccines
mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases. To trigger an immune response, many vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies. Not mRNA vaccines. Instead, they teach our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.
COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Will Be Rigorously Evaluated for Safety
mRNA vaccines are being held to the same rigorous safety and effectiveness standards as all other types of vaccines in the United States. The only COVID-19 vaccines the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will make available for use in the United States (by approval or emergency use authorization) are those that meet these standards.
mRNA Vaccines Are New, But Not Unknown
Researchers have been studying and working with mRNA vaccines for decades. Interest has grown in these vaccines because they can be developed in a laboratory using readily available materials. This means the process can be standardized and scaled up, making vaccine development faster than traditional methods of making vaccines.
(Source: CDC)