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COVID-19 Vaccine

Vaccines are here to help protect against serious illness from COVID-19. Due to limited initial supply, health care workers, first responders, and residents and staff of long-term care facilities will be the first to receive the vaccine. Supplies will continually increase in the weeks and months that follow.

Get Vaccinated Resources FAQs

Maryland COVID-19 vaccine priority groups

Maryland will distribute the vaccines to five different priority groups based on relative risk of exposure or developing serious illness.

WE ARE IN PHASE 1A:

  • Front line hospital staff and healthcare workers
  • Nursing home residents and staff
  • Law enforcement and firefighters, EMS
  • All licensed, registered and certified health care providers
  • Correctional health care staff and officers
  • Front line judiciary staff

Timeline: Ongoing

Total: 500,000+

Phase 1A

Phase 1A 

Health care workers

Residents and staff of nursing homes

First responders, public safety, corrections

*Maryland is currently in this stage

Phase 1B

Assisted living, other congregate settings

Adults age 75 and older

Education and continuity of government

Phase 1C

Adults age 65-74

Essential workers in lab services, agriculture, manufacturing, postal service, etc

Phase 2

Adults 16-64 at increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness due to comorbidities

Essential workers in critical utilities, transportation, food service, etc

Phase 3

General population, including healthy adults age 16-64

Vaccine prioritization may be subject to change. The state has adopted a rolling vaccine allocation model, meaning it may not wait for every member of a particular group to get vaccinated before moving ahead; individuals will still have the opportunity to be vaccinated in subsequent phases.

What are the vaccines?

Vaccines Status Dosing Efficacy Potential Side
Effects
Pfizer Vaccine has been authorized for emergency use Two doses, delivered three weeks apart 95% effective at preventing serious illness Injection-site pain, fatigue, headaches, chills
Moderna Vaccine has been authorized for emergency use Two doses, delivered four weeks apart 94.1% effective at preventing serious illness Injection-site pain, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, headaches, chills
AstraZeneca Vaccine trials are ongoing Two doses, delivered four weeks apart

NOTE: A half-dose may be recommended for the first dose.

 – Fever, muscle ache, headache, injection-site pain

Why should you get the vaccine?

Safely delivering groceries

Protective
It helps to protect you and those around you from COVID-19.

Receiving a vaccine

Promising results
Early clinical trials show the vaccines are highly effective in preventing serious illness.

A family together

Pandemic-ending
These vaccines are the path forward to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthy woman wearing mask

Minimal side effects
Most of the participants in clinical trials had minimal side effects. The most common were soreness at injection site, fever, or body aches.

Keep On, Maryland

As we proceed with vaccinating the public, we all must keep on slowing the spread of COVID-19.

Keep on wearing your mask, watching your distance and washing your hands. You should get tested and quarantine if you expect exposure or show symptoms.

Learn More

Stay safe by wearing a mask, maintaining distance and washing hands.

Resources about the COVID vaccine

The resources on this page will evolve as the Maryland vaccination effort moves forward.

Please check back regularly for information and updates.