ANNAPOLIS, Md. — As Maryland slowly approaches 70% of all adults having received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Governor Larry Hogan[R] indicated that residents may soon be able to take off their masks.
At a press conference on May 12, Hogan told reporters that once 70% of adults have received their first vaccine dose in Maryland, the state will look to remove the indoor mask mandate. While the state is currently hovering around 65.1% of adults having received one dose, Hogan said he is optimistically hoping to meet the needed threshold by Memorial Day, ahead of President Joe Biden’s[D] national goal of July 4.
“Our numbers are, as I mentioned, much lower than they have been all year,” Hogan said. “We believe we are taking the prudent steps. We are not [lifting the indoor mask mandate] today because we want to continue to make a little more progress.”
Indoor and outdoor venues across the state were also given the green light to resume full capacity operations as of this coming Saturday. This would include concert venues, convention centers, and sporting event stadiums.
Another key takeaway from the governor’s press conference regarded vaccine eligibility for children. Hogan said that as of May 13, children in the state between the ages of 12 and 15 will be eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine at 11 mass vaccination sites, as well as from hundreds of pharmacists across the state. It can be noted that the 70% threshold the state is looking at to remove the indoor mask mandate does not include children.
“We truly are closer than ever to getting back to a sense of normalcy,” Hogan said. “But once again, the fastest way to get rid of our damn masks and to put this pandemic behind us once and for all is for every single eligible Marylander to get vaccinated as quickly as possible.”
We will continue to provide additional details from today’s press conference this evening.
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