BALTIMORE — Never mind that the State of Maryland had reached two-thirds of its adults with a shot by mid-May.
Three months later, it is quite an achievement in a city, which has been behind in vaccinating its residents.
“Yesterday, we hit 65 percent of Baltimore residents over 18 having received at least one dose of vaccine,” said Mayor Brandon Scott.
The mayor is quick to point out that until everyone is vaccinated, the delta variant will continue to take its toll, and like elsewhere, younger victims are now taking the brunt of it.
“Data for the last week shows the highest incidents rates of COVID-19 cases occurring among those in the 20 to 29 year old age group, with the second highest incidents age group among under the age of 10,” said City Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa.
The city has made progress in addressing vaccine equity with vaccination among African-Americans jumping by more than 12 percent since the beginning of July.
“A lot of that work was done after the mass vax sites, because we know the transportation access and other things we have, taking it to the individuals and residents has made it more accessible and our work with our community partners to break down the barriers is how we got to this point,” said Scott.
The city is also looking for a semi-permanent location to distribute booster shots if and when they become a reality a month from now.
