Faced with a sluggish coronavirus vaccination pace, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday he will deploy the state’s National Guard to hasten local health departments’ inoculation of medical workers, while threatening to take away unused vaccines from hospitals slow to administer them.
The governor also said he may withhold additional doses from any hospital, contractor, pharmacy or health department that has not used 75 percent of its supply.
“No doses should be sitting in freezers while others are waiting,” Hogan (R) said during a news conference. “Either use the doses you have been allocated or they will be redirected.”
State data shows only 34 percent of more than 163,000 doses sent to Maryland hospitals have been used. One hospital system, Adventist HealthCare, has used less than 16 percent. Pharmacies charged with inoculating nursing home residents have used less than 14 percent of their vaccines.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Erin Cox, Rebecca Tan and Lola Fadulu over at The Washington Post
