Maryland officials on Tuesday said the state is providing 2,300 doses from its initial allotment of the Moderna vaccine to health care workers at the National Institutes of Health as the federal agency kicked off its vaccination efforts against COVID-19.
The state has been allotted 191,075 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines with initial plans to vaccinate frontline health care workers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, and first responders.
Six health care workers from the agency on Tuesday as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci and NIH Office of Research Services Director Colleen McGowan received Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
“Maryland is proud to be home to some of the world’s leading health systems and medical research institutions, including NIH,” Gov. Larry Hogan said. “With our earliest vaccinations focused on high-risk populations, we are providing a limited number of doses to NIH in order to vaccinate these Maryland-based front line health care workers.”
The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for Moderna’s vaccine Friday and vaccinations began Monday. Federal regulators awarded Pfizer and BioNTech the first approval for a COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 11, which was then distributed and administered starting last week.
Both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines require two doses. The Pfizer vaccine is approved for individuals 16 years and older while the Moderna vaccine is for people 18 years and older.
• Shen Wu Tan can be reached at stan@washingtontimes.com.
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