ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Recently Maryland has come under fire for their early struggles in distributing initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Bloomberg the state ranks eighth worst in distribution, administering just shy of 24 percent of the nearly 275,000 doses they've been allotted.
The report didn't sit well with Maryland Democratic Party Chair, Yvette Lewis.
"There is no excuse for Maryland to be trailing the nation. Our status as one of the worst states for COVID-19 vaccine distribution is nothing short of a failure."
Lewis blamed Governor Larry Hogan and budget cuts as the reason for the slowdown.
"The shortcomings can be traced back to years of budget cuts by Governor Hogan, which left municipalities like Montgomery County kneecapped."
Michael Ricci, a spokesman for the Governor, shot back calling the claims false and baseless.
"It is in actually somewhat reassuring that, even as our lives have changed so much over the last year, the Maryland Democratic Party remains firmly committed to outright falsehoods and baseless attacks."
In the past Hogan complained the amount of doses allocated to the state wouldn't be enough to cover all those on the front lines. However, his administration still has 209,232 doses that haven't even been given yet, according to Bloomberg's numbers.
On Tuesday evening Hogan is scheduled to provide a COVID-19 update, in which he's expected to address the status of the vaccine roll out.
READ MORE: Gov. Hogan shares Maryland's plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccine
A Maryland Department of Health spokesperson on Monday told WMAR-2 News, there are more than half-a-million vulnerable residents, healthcare workers, and first responders who remain a priority in Phase 1A of the state’s vaccine distribution plan.
Between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Maryland officials say there is enough to immunize about 90 percent of its front line hospital staff.
