County clinic moving to fairgrounds, appointments not required at hospital
Apr. 16—CUMBERLAND — The Allegany County Health Department has been providing COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the Barton shell building in Rawlings, but will soon relocate.
"We are moving our clinic operations to the Multipurpose Building at the Allegany County Fairgrounds the week of May 3," Allegany County Health Officer Jenelle Mayer said via email Thursday.
People that live or work in Allegany County can visit ACHD's website and complete the COVID-19 Vaccine Interest Form to receive registration links for the next available vaccination clinic.
Individuals should expect an email, or phone call if they have no email address, a day or two after submitting their information on the form.
"Wait times are very short now that all Maryland adults are eligible for vaccination," Mayer said.
Walk-ins permitted at hospital Friday
Folks can get the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination without an appointment Friday at UPMC Western Maryland's vaccine clinic.
All people age 18 and older that live or work in Allegany County are eligible to receive the vaccine.
The clinic runs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Multiple additional clinics will be scheduled in the coming weeks with details announced soon, the release stated.
People that want to get the vaccine should access the hospital through the entrance adjacent to the parking garage where they will be screened and directed to a registration area where they will be required to show their driver's license or another valid form of identification.
Surender Kanaparthi, UPMC Western Maryland's executive director of cancer and pharmacy services and supply chain, said the hospital system's vaccine supply, including the amount and type, come from the state.
"We have ample appointments open for vaccinations for (Friday's) Moderna clinic," he said via email. "We have attempted to contact everyone from the list we received from the county either by email or phone."
UPMC Western Maryland's weekly clinics have given 11,000 doses to 7,000 individuals since late January, Kanaparthi said.
"Starting Monday, our UPMC Urgent Care locations in Cumberland, Frostburg and McHenry will offer vaccination appointments, as will several of our primary care locations," he said.
For the latest details, visit UPMCWesternMaryland.com.
"UPMC Western Maryland continues to recognize the importance of safely distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to its community members and is pleased to be able to offer these additional options along with the other opportunities now available in Allegany County," Kanaparthi said.
State and local cases
The Maryland Department of Health on Thursday reported 1,444 new COVID-19 cases, 19 additional deaths and eight more hospitalizations across the state in the past 24 hours.
The daily COVID-19 positivity case rate was 5.78% statewide, 3.22% for Allegany County, 3.29% for Garrett County and 6.52% for Washington County.
The seven-day moving average case rate per 100,000 people was 23.56 statewide, 15.01 for Allegany County, 4.43 for Garrett County and 21.94 for Washington County.