The state of Maryland submitted a COVID-19 mass vaccination plan to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The plan focuses on two major phases of vaccine availability and distribution. Phase one of the vaccination plan will target those at the higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19. These high-risk groups include frontline first responders and health care workers as well as staff and residents of nursing homes, long-term care facilities and assisted living facilities. The goal is to have an equitable distribution of the vaccine throughout this phase one population.
Phase two involves vaccination of the general public and this will be determined by a number of factors including the availability of the vaccine and the achievement of ensuring high priority phase one groups are sufficiently protected first.
The plan also addresses a number of other issues including the storage and handling of the vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine products are temperature sensitive and will need to be stored and handled in a manner that ensures the vaccine's viability prior to administration to a patient. The CDC is developing guidelines for the storage and handling and the state of Maryland will work to comply with those guidelines once they are made available.
There will be three main systems used to monitor the safety of the vaccines including the vaccine adverse event reporting system, vaccine safety datalink and clinical immunization safety assessment project. Several online dashboards are currently under development to help relay data related to the COVID-19 vaccinations collected from various sources so that it can be made available in real time to the public.
For most COVID-19 vaccines, it will require two doses administered approximately 28 days apart. The Maryland Department of Health will work hard to execute a public health campaign focused on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine to ensure that seniors throughout Maryland properly receive the vaccine and are protected from the COVID-19 virus. This effort is a coordination between many different departments and nearly 40 Maryland companies working together to develop and manufacture the vaccine, distribute it appropriately, improve diagnostic testing and provide accurate and ongoing data.
At Stouffer Legal, we care about our seniors and the COVID-19 virus has made 2020 a year no one is soon to forget. This news of a vaccine provides us with an optimistic outlook about saving lives and helping our seniors return to a more normal lifestyle. For more information on elder law issues and long-term care planning contact the compassionate attorneys at Stouffer Legal in the Greater Baltimore area.
