ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Today, Governor Hogan and Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced a mass vaccination site will open the week of April 26th at the Mall in Columbia. After a careful review of several locations, both County and State officials identified the Mall in Columbia provided the best opportunity for an efficient, high-volume operation with highway and transit accessibility and available parking.
The opportunity to host a mass vaccination site in Howard County provides a significant benefit to the residents of Howard County, with additional vaccine allocations that will be easily accessible to our community. We’re grateful to the Governor and his team for working closely with us to identify the best location and finalize the logistics to stand up this site by the end of the month. We know many of our residents are eager to get vaccinated, and this site will be readily accessible and central for a large portion of our population.
"We are making rapid progress toward our goal of vaccinating all Marylanders, and we are pleased to open a mass vaccination site that will bring more life-saving vaccines to Howard County,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “I want to commend the County Executive and the team at the Howard County Health Department for all of their efforts to save lives and get shots into arms."
The Mall in Columba has the benefit of a central location both locally and regionally, highway access off US-29, direct transit access, ample parking and sufficient space needed to administer a high volume of vaccine doses over a short period of time. Early estimates indicate that this location may have the capacity to administer as many as 2,000-3,000 doses per day, as supply allows. The State and the County are continuing to work collaboratively on the logistics of opening a mass vaccination site at the Mall in Columbia, including the best approach to operational responsibilities.
"It is encouraging that the vaccination options for County residents are expanding," said Dr. Maura Rossman, Howard County Health Officer. "We know that many community members face barriers to receiving vaccine and believe that this mass vaccination site placed strategically in Howard County will improve the accessibility of this life-saving vaccine for many of our most vulnerable residents."