Governor Larry Hogan - Official Website for the Governor of Maryland

THE MARYLAND VACCINE EQUITY TASK FORCE

ABOUT THE TASK FORCE

Mission

The Maryland Vaccine Equity Task Force (VETF), led by Maryland National Guard Brigadier General Janeen Birckhead, is working with the state’s 24 local health departments to focus COVID-19 vaccination efforts on underserved, vulnerable, and hard-to-reach populations to ensure the equitable delivery of vaccines.

The task force has leveraged resources with close ties to key communities, including the state’s Vaccine Advisory Group, the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, the state’s network of Medicaid providers, and additional public sector and community partners.

In addition to evaluating the county plans and targeting resources at equity-focused vaccination efforts, the task force serves as a clearinghouse for proposals and requests from nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations seeking to serve vulnerable populations.

Read the VETF’s first-of-its kind operations plan.

Membership

Brigadier General Janeen Birckhead, Maryland National Guard
Office of Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford
Maryland Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities Director Dr. Noel Brathwaite
Maryland Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities Deputy Director Dr. Mark Martin
Assistant Medicaid Director Tricia Roddy

HIGHLIGHTS

1,155

Missions

25,080

Dose Support to County Equity Plans

155,435

Doses Distributed

^{revised September 1, 2021}

Vaccination Clinics

First Baptist Church of Glenarden, Prince George’s County
The VETF is partnering with the First Baptist Church in Glenarden and University of Maryland Capital Region Health to establish a large, community focused-vaccination site in Prince George’s County in Upper Marlboro. UMMS and First Baptist Church began planning for this site earlier this year, but they have agreed to dramatically accelerate timelines and open in less than two weeks. So far, they have assisted with 21,076 vaccinations. View the storyboard.

CASA – Hyattsville
The task force has assisted with 2,777 vaccinations in partnership with UMMS and Resolve at this Price George’s County site. View the storyboard.

CASA – Wheaton Mobile Vax
The mobile vaccination clinic in Montgomery County has assisted with 851 vaccinations. View the storyboard.

Bikur Cholim of Baltimore – Ner Tamid Greenspring Valley Synagogue
In partnership with LifeBridge Sinai, the VETF hosted a vaccination clinic at the Ner Tamid Greenspring Valley Synagogue in Baltimore, where they assisted with 4,671 vaccinations. View the storyboard.

Central Baptist Church of Camp Springs
The task force assisted with 1,094 vaccinations in partnership with Safeway and Walgreens. View the storyboard.

Sacred Heart
The clinic at Sacred Heart in Baltimore City, run by the VETF, assisted with 4,468 vaccinations. View the storyboard.

Mobile Vaccination Clinics, Western Maryland and Eastern Shore
The VETF has launched mobile clinics in hard-to-reach areas utilizing mobile units provided by the University of Maryland School of Nursing. These units have been deployed and staffed by the Maryland National Guard. Each mobile vaccine bus has the versatility to be used as a walk-in clinic or a drive-up site to administer between 60 to 160 vaccines per mission. Individuals will have the option of receiving the vaccine inside the wellness bus or staying in their car and vaccinators administering the vaccine there. The technology capabilities of the buses allow for registering and scheduling follow up appointments, making this a one-stop shop to getting shots in arms at otherwise hard-to-reach locations across Maryland.

Community Outreach

Vaccine Safety and Efficacy Event, M&T Bank Stadium
On April 6, the VETF partnered with nearly 50 Maryland faith leaders for an event at M&T Bank Stadium to promote the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines and to recognize the role of faith-based and community-based institutions in vaccine distribution across the state. Learn more.

Mobile Education Unit, Prince George’s County
The Maryland Department of Health launched a “sound truck” outreach effort to provide information about COVID-19 prevention and vaccination in targeted ZIP codes in Prince George’s County. The truck, outfitted with COVID-19 informational banners, broadcast prevention and vaccination messages from its public-address system in Spanish and English. Volunteers distributed informational flyers in Spanish and English and provided free face masks at designated stops along the route. See the news coverage from WUSA9.

Public Service Announcements
Maryland’s GoVAX campaign features a growing list of ambassadors and trusted leaders who share their personal stories about getting vaccinated to encourage fellow Marylanders to do the same. Ambassadors include 20th U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, UMBC President Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, Reverend Matthew Watley of Kingdom Fellowship AME Church, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, and Coppin State University Men’s Basketball Coach and former NBA player Juan Dixon.

Additional GoVAX Outreach

Community canvassing and distribution of informational materials and face masks in targeted neighborhoods
Outreach through community establishments, including barber shops and salons, laundromats, bus shelters, transit stops, testing sites, health centers, and retail stores, and HBCUs
Virtual town halls, including two with Radio One and one with Radio Tiempo (in Spanish) in the third and fourth weeks of March
Partnerships with BGE and Maryland counties to provide informational materials in water and utility bills