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Maryland Guard to Support State Vaccination Efforts

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Maj. Kurt Rauschenberg
Maryland National Guard Public Affairs Office
ng.md.mdarng.list.pao@mail.mil
Phone: 410-576-6179

BALTIMORE (January 8, 2021) — More than 140 Maryland National Guard members are currently supporting the Maryland Department of Health with COVID-19 vaccinations.

MDNG Soldiers and Airmen formed mobile vaccination support teams, which are providing support to county health departments with vaccinations during the global pandemic.

Each MVST is comprised of nine-to-fourteen guard members, with a minimum of four who can administer the vaccines. The remainder will support patient flow, data entry, and other medical-related tasks. 

“We have dedicated our best planners to support the Maryland Department of Health for months as they prepared for when the COVID-19 vaccine would be ready,” said Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Gowen, adjutant general for Maryland. “The direct support the Guard will provide to the county health departments will accelerate the state’s vaccination efforts and I am excited to see the impact of our teams as they move throughout the state.”

Maryland Air and Army National Guard medical personnel administer the COVID-19 vaccine to Charles County first responders on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Regency Furniture Stadium, in Waldorf, Maryland. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Thaddeus Harrington)

Close coordination with the MDH, and other civil authorities, continues to determine where the Guard’s capabilities are needed most and allowing them to respond appropriately. These long-standing partnerships with emergency managers and first responders ensure a rapid and unified response.

“Local health departments throughout the state have worked alongside the National Guard to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Jinlene Chan, Acting Deputy Secretary of Public Health for the Maryland Department of Health. “As we have moved into this monumental task of vaccinating Marylanders on the front lines, we are grateful for the assistance of our partners and support from the National Guard in executing this critical mission.”

The MDNG will also be providing resources to support congregate care in long-term health facilities and Guard members to support county health department testing activities, call center assistance, data center analysis, and other logistical support.  The MDNG will continue to provide the support as long as Governor Larry Hogan authorizes them.

In March of last year, Guard members supported the state’s COVID-19 response by activating more than 1,500 troops, who completed an average of nine missions a day for nearly five months.

Missions included moving 591 million pieces of personal protective gear to all 23 Maryland counties plus Baltimore City, distributing more than one million meals to the community and screening and testing about 22,000 people at 14 sites across the state, including high-risk residents at 227 skilled-nursing facilities.

“We have a lot of lessons learned from battling this pandemic during the last year.” said Brig. Gen. Adam Flasch, director of the MDNG Joint Staff. “Our Soldiers and Airmen are always ready to support their community and make their neighborhoods safer for their family, friends and coworkers.”

Members of the MDNG began receiving the COVID-19 vaccine January 5, 2020, as part of the national rollout established by the Department of Defense and National Guard Bureau in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

“Our Soldiers and Airmen are able to decide whether they want to receive the COVID-19 vaccination or not,” said Gowen. “We encourage everyone to discuss what is best for them and those people around them with their loved ones and their health care providers.”

Both vaccines are a two-shot series, and must be of the same vaccine. The Moderna vaccine shots, which the members received, are spaced four weeks apart.

Neither vaccine is a live virus, weakened virus or dead virus.  It is not possible to “catch” or transmit COVID-19 by getting vaccinated, and there is no risk to any family members, according to health officials. Like with many other vaccines, reactions such as aches at the injection site and fatigue can happen.

For Gowen, who received his vaccine shot before the holidays, he said the collective efforts of everyone involved to fight COVID-19 is worth it.

“We all continue to experience immense challenges related to COVID, but the vaccine provides hope,” said Gowen. “Hope of not only slowing this virus, but defeating it.”