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October 19, 2021

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

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Md. Health Secretary Pushes Back as Senators Call for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccines in Schools

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Senators continued to push Maryland Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader to exercise his authority to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for eligible school-age students Monday.

“I brought this up in the last briefing last month and you weren’t sure that you had the authority to do so and it sounds like this month, you’re still uncertain and not willing to explore that as a possibility,” Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Howard) said at a meeting of the Senate Vaccine Oversight Workgroup Monday. “I hope that next month you’ll be able to bring back some additional considerations as to how you can improve those rates in schools through a mandatory vaccination program in conjunction with [the Maryland State Department of Education].”

According to a presentation from the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability for the Department of Legislative Services, since school has been in session, the sharpest increase in COVID positivity rates in the state has been among children.

About 72% of children between 12 and 17 years old have received at least one shot.

Lam asked Schrader what is being done to encourage eligible minors to get vaccinated.

Schrader said that the Department of Health has “two tracks of priority:” getting booster shots in the arms of the state’s most vulnerable and tracking down the nearly one million eligible Marylanders who have yet to get vaccinated.

But Schrader also clearly demonstrated his disinterest in mandating COVID-19 vaccines for school-aged students.

Under Maryland’s education code, the Department of Health has the ability to issue regulations that require students to be inoculated to attend school.

“You do have the tool to be able to require vaccination of students going into schools,” said Lam. “Is that right, is that something that you’re looking at?”

Schrader responded “not at the moment.” He said there have been conversations about working with school systems to increase the vaccination rate in 12- to 17-year-olds but he wants to respect local school districts’ authority.

“We really need to rely on the schools to help us with this,” Schrader said. “They’re autonomous and we want to make sure we respect that autonomy in working with them.”

Lam, a physician, pushed back and said the state is falling short on protecting its kids.

“I am concerned about the spread of COVID in our schools and you have a tool that you can use as the secretary to require this to be required vaccination and students coming into our schools, but it sounds as though [the Department of Health] is not reaching for this tool or is not willing to do so,” he said.

Schrader said the health department’s focus now is increasing the rate for routine vaccinations in elementary school students.

“We want to make sure that those are taken care of, but we’ll go back and take a look at your suggestion,” he said.

After other senators pressed the health department to take more decisive action, Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s) grew frustrated and asked Schrader where the buck stops: with the State Department of Education or with the Department of Health?

“So, we have the adults pointing fingers at each other while the kids are suffering and the parents are suffering,” he said.

Rosapepe told Schrader that he should exercise the power he has to mandate the vaccine in schools.

But, “if for whatever political reason” he decides not to do that, Rosapepe suggested that the Department of Health “aggressively work with the school systems to identify in every school which kids have been vaccinated which kids haven’t been vaccinated” through the state’s ImmuNet vaccination record system and bring mobile vaccination units to those locations.

Rosapepe also proposed rating school systems like the Department of Health rates nursing homes based on their rates of vaccination.

“A couple of suggestions if you’re not willing to go with mandatory vaccinations,” he said.

By Hannah Gaskill

Hogan Makes Booster Shots Available to Nursing Home Residents, People With Health Issues

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Marylanders age 65 and over who live in nursing homes and other congregate care facilities became eligible for COVID-19 booster shots on Tuesday, under an order from Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R).

Seniors who live in assisted living facilities, residential drug treatment centers, and group homes for people with disabilities also became eligible for the shots, which health experts have said can bolster protection against the coronavirus.

Gov. Larry Hogan

Hogan issued the order after the state’s Antibody Testing Program determined that more than 60% of vaccinated residents had “some form of waning immunity over time, and showed that as many as one-in-three are now particularly vulnerable.”

He also cited an Israeli study which concluded that a booster — typically a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines — led to an 11-fold reduction in infections and a ten-fold decrease in severe illness.

“All of the evidence makes it abundantly clear that we cannot afford to delay taking decisive action to protect our most vulnerable citizens,” Hogan said.

The state’s research tested more than 500 nursing home residents.

The state Health Department also issued guidance on Tuesday ordering all pharmacies and health providers to provide a booster shot “without any need for a prescription or a doctor’s order to anyone who considers themselves to be immunocompromised,” Hogan said.

“No one in this category should be turned away from receiving a booster,” he added.

The governor said Maryland has a strong supply of vaccine and does not anticipate reopening mass vaccination sites when the general public becomes eligible for booster shots.

A potential White House hopeful in 2024, Hogan continued his criticism of the federal government, saying that states “have had to operate without clear guidance” from the CDC or FDA as to when booster shots will be recommended for people under age 65 and those without health conditions.

“The limited guidance we have received has been confusing and contradictory,” Hogan said, echoing complaints he made on a Sunday talk show, “and it is still unclear when and how more people will become eligible.”

According to the state Department of Health, an average of 17 of every 100,000 Marylanders tested positive over the last week, a 15% decrease since the beginning of September.

Hogan said his administration is “proud” that Maryland is unlike the states that have “spiking numbers… with their case-rates surging out of control and their hospitals overflowing.”

According to the CDC, community transmission of COVID is “high” in 19 of Maryland’s 24 jurisdiction, and “substantial” in the remaining five. 

Hogan also announced a $3 million “Community COVID-19 Vaccination Project,” which he described as a “door-to-door canvassing effort to directly engage Marylanders living in areas with low vaccination rates and in effort to encourage more vaccinations.”

The project will also provide health education in “at-risk neighborhoods.”

“The vaccines are the single most effective way to protect people from severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths,” he said, adding that only 0.2% of fully-vaccinated Marylanders have been hospitalized.

At a time when right-wing media personalities and outlets are touting unproven treatments, Hogan encouraged people who test positive and begin to experience symptoms to consult with their health-care provider about monoclonal antibody therapy.

“These monoclonal antibodies are the only approved and effective treatment for COVID-positive individuals who are symptomatic but not yet severe enough to require hospitalization,” Hogan said.

Maryland has completed more than 10,000 infusions at 30 facilities, Hogan said, an effort that has cut hospitalizations and deaths significantly.

By Bruce DePuyt

Spy COVID-19 Aug. 27 Update

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• The Maryland State Board of Education approved an in-school mask mandate for all public schools statewide. The emergency regulation must be approved by a state legislative committee; it will be in effect for 180 days if approved.

• The level of community transmission of COVID-19 is high for Maryland and high across the Eastern Shore. Health officials urge everyone, including those who are fully vaccinated, to wear masks while indoors.

• Kent County’s 7-day average positivity rate is 3.57% and its case rate is 10.30 cases per 100,000 population.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 492,547, an increase of 1,373 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, seven people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 9,748.

• The state’s average positivity rate is 4.92%,  up 0.03% from yesterday.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 711, down 9 from yesterday.

Spy COVID-19 Aug. 19 Update

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• The level of community transmission of COVID-19 is high for Maryland and high across most of the Mid-Shore. Health officials urge everyone, including those who are fully vaccinated, to wear masks while indoors.

• Maryland’s average positivity rate topped 5% for the first time since April 22.

• Kent County’s community transmission level is high, according to the county health department.

• Kent County’s 7-day average positivity rate is 7.2% and its case rate is 19.86 cases per 100,000 population.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 483,641, an increase of 1,060 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, nine people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 9,695.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 643, up 13 from yesterday.

MD Senators Call for Stricter Statewide COVID-19 Mandates, Require Vaccines in Schools

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In spite of cries for stricter statewide COVID-19 protocols from lawmakers, Maryland Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader remained steadfast in the idea that local government agencies should remain in control of mask and vaccine mandates.

“We really believe that local authority knows best,” Schrader said at the Senate Vaccine Oversight Workgroup meeting Tuesday afternoon.

As COVID-19 delta variant infections continue to crop up, members of the workgroup urged Schrader to impose tougher standards, including re-issuing a statewide mask mandate and requiring students aged 12 through 17 to be vaccinated before returning to school in the fall.

Schrader said that the delta variant is now the “predominant variant in the state” and “[at a] minimum, two to four times more contagious than the alpha variant and the original COVID virus.”

More than 70% of all eligible Maryland residents are fully vaccinated, including more than half of Marylanders aged 12 through 17.

The health secretary said that COVID-19 shots may be approved for children under 12 later this year.

According to Schrader, Maryland has very strong laws that grant authority to local school boards and superintendents to make decisions for their respective systems.

He also said that the Maryland Department of Health does not have the authority to require students to be vaccinated statewide.

But some lawmakers disagree with the Department of Health’s interpretation of the law.

Citing Maryland’s education code, Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Howard) said that the agency has the ability to issue regulations that require students to be inoculated to attend school.

“It seems to fairly clearly articulate that you have the authority to do this and, given that we are only a few weeks away, if not maybe just a week or two, from students … going into school — many of whom are not vaccinated — it seems like there’s no strategy here to get those students vaccinated,” Lam said.

Schrader said that he would have to go back and check with the department’s lawyers to verify Lam’s “assertion.”

“Our assessment is different,” Schrader said.

According to a letter of advice from the attorney general’s office to Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s), state health officials do have the authority to create statewide vaccine policies.

“…it is my view that [the Maryland State Department of Education] has given [local education agencies] flexibility regarding in-person instruction operations,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Sandra Benson Brantley. “Nevertheless, if the Secretary of Health or local health officer mandated vaccinations, the [local education agency] would be required to follow such directives.”

‘Very concerned about the direction we’re moving’

Also on Tuesday, Jon Baron, a nonprofit executive and gubernatorial candidate, called on Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) and local officials to institute tougher vaccine and testing requirements.

At a press conference in Baltimore, Baron said all state employees and contractors, in addition to educators and school staff statewide, should be required to show proof for vaccination or receive weekly testing. Baron also said all workers in “indoor healthcare settings” should be required to show proof of vaccination.

He also wants to see more local governments in Maryland implement vaccination and testing requirements, similar to Montgomery County’s plan.

“I’m proud of the fact that Maryland is the 7th most vaccinated state in the nation,” Baron said. “But our contest is not with other states; it’s with the virus. Currently 40% of all Marylanders are unvaccinated, and until those numbers increase, we remain highly vulnerable to the delta variant.”

Schrader said that Hogan will be making an announcement regarding vaccine requirements at a news conference Wednesday.

Lawmakers at Tuesday’s meeting also expressed a desire to see the mask mandate be reinstated.

“I think we’re going to end up getting there anyway, and so it’s a matter of now or later and the sooner we do it the faster we’re through it,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said.

Lam, a doctor, grilled Schrader, asking what it would take for the Department of Health to push for another mask mandate — especially considering the recent discovery that vaccinated people who contract the delta variant are contagious.

“We believe that the way out of this is through vaccinations, and we are continuing to press on that as our primary tool to move through this,” Schrader responded.

Lam said that he’s “very concerned about the direction the state’s moving.”

“The environment has certainly changed, in the state doesn’t seem to be doing all that much differently,” he said. “We seemed to be doing good enough until recently [and] now are, in fact, removing tools in the public health toolkit.”

“So I am very concerned about the direction we’re moving,” Lam said.

By Hannah Gaskill and Bennett Leckrone

Spy COVID-19 Aug. 17 Update

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• The level of community transmission of COVID-19 is high across most of the Mid-Shore and substantial for Maryland as a whole. Health officials urge everyone, including those who are fully vaccinated, to wear masks while indoors.

• Kent County’s community transmission level is HIGH, according to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker.

• Kent County had 5 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 8.08% and its case rate is 20.60 cases per 100,000 population.

• Maryland’s average positivity rate has been on an upward trend since July 13 and has been above 4% for 10 days.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 481,569, an increase of 851 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, three people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 9,678.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 611, up 35 from yesterday. That number was last above 600 on May 17 and had been on a downward trend from April 20 through July 2, when only 97 patients were hospitalized. The current upward trend began July 3.

Md. Positivity Rate Tops 4%, 400+ Hospitalized, Case Rate Stays Above 10

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The state’s COVID-19 positivity rate has topped 4% since Aug. 7, with Monday’s 7-day average at 4.21%.  The positivity rate had been below 4% from April 27 through Friday.

The rate reached a low of 0.54% on June 8; the high of 26.88% was recorded on April 17, 2020.

On Monday, Maryland reported 400 patients hospitalized for COVID-19. The number of hospitalized patients had dropped below 400 on May 27 and hit a low of 97 on July 2. The high, on Jan. 12, was 1,952 patients.

The state’s case rate, the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population, has topped 10 since Aug. 5. That rate had been below 10 from May 8 until Aug. 4.

Maryland’s highest case rate — 53.39 — was recorded on Jan. 12, a low of 0.90 was reported on June 24 and 25. (The rate was at 0.80 and below from March 23 to March 25, 2020, the first three days that statistic was reported by the state.)

*New cases in last 24 hours.

The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Since Aug. 6, Kent County has reported five new COVID-19 cases. The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 5.31%.

• Maryland’s average positivity rate has been on an upward trend since July 13 and has been above 4% for three days.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 475,184, an increase of 629 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, seven people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 9,648.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 424, up 24 from yesterday.

COVID-19 Community Transmission Level is High in U.S., Substantial in Md.

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Health officials are urging vaccinations and renewed mask use as COVID-19 trends increase locally, in Maryland, and across the nation, largely due to the delta variant.

The level of community transmission of COVID-19 across the United States is high, with more than two-thirds of the states in that category, according to the CDC. Maryland currently is among 16 states in which the community transmission level is deemed substantial, one step lower than high.

“The level of community transmission is based on the number of cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 population and the number of tests in the last 7 days that have a positive result,” the CDC says.

*New cases in last 24 hours.

The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• The community transmission level in Kent County is substantial.

• Since Aug. 4, Kent County has reported seven new COVID-19 cases. The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 5.27%.

• Maryland’s average positivity rate has been on an upward trend since July 13 and has been above 3% for seven days.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 473,116, an increase of 892 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, three people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 9,629.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 365, up 20 from yesterday.

Spy COVID-19 Aug. 4 Update

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*New cases in last 24 hours.

The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Since July 30, Kent County has reported 7 new COVID-19 cases. The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 4.65%.

• Maryland’s average positivity rate has been on an upward trend since July 13 and has been above 3% for four days.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 470,605, an increase of 695 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, five people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 9,620.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 325, up 16 from yesterday. This is the second straight day the number of patients has been more than 300. There have been more than 200 hospitalized patients for the past eight days. There are 243 patients in acute care beds and 82 in intensive care.

Spy COVID-19 July 30 Update

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*New cases in last 24 hours.

The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Since July 26, Kent County has reported 1 new COVID-19 case. The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 2.45%.

• Maryland’s average positivity rate has been on an upward trend since July 13 and has been above 2% for six days.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 467,961, an increase of 526 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, no one died as a result of COVID-19, leaving the state’s total to 9,599.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 222, up 7 from yesterday. There have been more than 200 hospitalized patients for the past three days. There are 164 patients in acute care beds and 58 in intensive care.