Maryland State statistics on COVID-19 as of this morning, Thursday, March 11, show that 207,500 Montgomery County residents (19.7 percent of the population) have received their first vaccine dose and more than 105,200 residents (10 percent of the population) are fully vaccinated. The County is now offering vaccinations at County health department clinics to residents in Priority Groups 1B and 1C—which includes those ages 65-74.
While vaccination rates are going up, confirmed COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 testing positivity rates and COVID-19 hospital bed use rates are going down. These figures are shown on the County COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
Navigate the charts with the arrows in the Vaccine Distribution Dashboard.
DHHS vaccination clinics are by appointment only. There are no walk-in vaccination sites.
Last week, the County’s health department received 1,600 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson (J & J) vaccine. Of the three vaccines available in the U.S., the J & J vaccine is the only one that requires only a single dose. It is unknown when the County will receive additional J & J vaccines. Since the arrival of J & J doses, more than 1,500 essential workers, some home-bound seniors, residents of homeless shelters and other priority groups have received this vaccine.
The J & J vaccine has been shown to be 100 percent effective in preventing COVID-19-related hospitalization and death. It is highly effective in preventing severe disease and also has shown protection against new variants of COVID-19. The J & J vaccine is a critical additional tool for fighting the COVID health crisis.
When a resident receives an invitation from DHHS to make an appointment at a County-operated clinic, they are told which vaccine is being offered at the clinic. County health officials urge residents to get vaccinated with whatever vaccine is offered because they are all safe and effective. However, if a resident does not want to receive the vaccine offered to them, they can decline the invitation and their preregistration information will be put back into the queue for a future vaccination opportunity.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fully vaccinated people can safely resume some activities with other fully vaccinated people. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine (two doses for Moderna and Pfizer, one for J & J). The current guidelines say that:
Fully vaccinated people should continue to take COVID-19 precautions when in public, when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple other households and when around unvaccinated people who are at high risk of getting severely ill from COVID-19.
Montgomery County is making progress at vaccinating more residents, but it is still important for everyone to continue the disease prevention guidelines that have been practiced for the past year.
Preregistration information for getting COVID-19 vaccines from DHHS:
Everyone must preregister for vaccinations. As vaccine doses are available, residents who have preregistered will be contacted and offered an appointment for a vaccination.
Preregistration is not a vaccination appointment—it places a person in the queue by priority group. When vaccine doses arrive, DHHS contacts residents from the preregistration list and invites them to make an appointment.
Once preregistered, individuals will receive an invitation to make an appointment by email directly from DHHS. The invitation will come from c19vaccination@montgomerycountymd.gov. Be sure to monitor junk and/or spam folders, in case the messages go there instead of an inbox.
Do not forward appointment scheduling links to friends and family. These links are intended only for the direct recipient.
Residents who have received a first dose from a DHHS-sponsored clinic will receive an email approximately four to seven days before the second dose is due with an invitation to make an appointment. The Moderna vaccine (which most DHHS clinics use) recommends a second dose be given 28 days after the first dose. Per the CDC, there is no maximum interval between the first and second dose, but we want to provide second doses as close to 28 days as possible.
In addition to the clinics operated by DHHS, hospitals, healthcare systems and several private pharmacies have COVID-19 vaccines available to the public. These clinics follow the State guidelines, and not the rules issued by the County, so they may be vaccinating other priority groups in addition to Groups 1A and 1B. Preregistration on Montgomery County’s vaccine page does not mean a person is registered with other locations. Vaccine supply continues to be limited at all venues in Montgomery County.
Hospitals include:
- Adventist HealthCare
- Holy Cross Hospital
- Kaiser Permanente
- MedStar Health
- Suburban Hospital, a subsidiary of Johns Hopkins (Suburban Hospital is prioritizing existing patients in the Hopkins system).
Maryland also has multiple mass vaccination sites, although there are none in Montgomery County. Information and registration for those venues are available on Maryland’s GoVax website.
Telephone assistance for preregistering is available for people who do not have easy access to the Internet.
Residents are encouraged to assist their neighbors, family members and friends to preregister if they need help.
Those 75 years and older without Internet access can call the Preregistration Helpline at 240-777-2982 for assistance in preregistering. The helpline is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and bilingual staff members (English/Spanish) are available. Call takers can also access a translation line to help callers with many other languages.
The line is for preregistration only.
General questions about vaccinations and COVID-19 can be directed by phone to 240-777-1755 seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The line is for preregistration only.
General questions about vaccinations and COVID-19 can be directed by phone to 240-777-1755 seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
