COVID-19 Update: County Getting Closer to Having 70 Percent of All Residents Vaccinated; State Initiates Scholarship Incentives for Those 12-17 to Get Shots

Montgomery County is moving closer to having 70 percent of all residents receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This week, the State initiated a new incentive for those 12-17 to get vaccinated and become eligible for college scholarships of up to $50,000.

Maryland statistics as of today, Thursday, July 8, show that more than 709,500 County residents (67.5  percent of all residents) have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. More than 645,400 County residents (61.4 percent of all residents) are fully vaccinated.

The County is encouraging residents 12-18 to get vaccinated. Information on how to make appointments is available at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/

Residents can walk into County-run clinics without an appointment.

Youth ages 12 to 15 no longer need to preregister for appointments. Parents/guardians can make appointments for them at clinics using the Pfizer vaccine.

Those needing help making an appointment by emailing c19vaccination@montgomerycountymd.gov.

The State announced this week the launch of the $1 million “VaxU Scholarship Promotion,” an incentive program to encourage 12- to 17-year-olds to get vaccinated. Winners will receive a $50,000 scholarship, which covers the equivalent of full tuition and fees at a public, in-state institution of higher education. The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) and the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) will jointly administer the initiative, which will select 20 winners through random drawings between now and Labor Day.

Beginning July 12, the VaxU Scholarship Promotion will randomly select two winners per week for eight weeks. On Monday, Sept. 6—Labor Day—four winners will be selected. To qualify for the scholarship, students must live and be vaccinated in Maryland.

The award will be distributed in the form of a Prepaid College Trust or College Investment Plan from Maryland529, and can be utilized in accordance with the guidelines for those programs: 

A four-year Maryland Prepaid College Trust Account will be funded for a winner who is between the ages of 12-14 at the time of the drawing.

 
A Maryland College Investment Plan contribution will be awarded to individuals between the ages of 15-17 at the time of the drawing.

Winners will be selected utilizing the same random number generator used for the $2 Million VaxCash Promotion. Similar to that promotion, the winners of the VaxU promotion will be permitted to remain anonymous. However, the city or county of the winner will be published.

Federal COVID-19 relief funds will be used to cover the cost of the program. For more information, visit the MHEC VaxU Scholarship Promotion website.