FEMA Vax Trailers To Serve Eastern Shore
The nation’s first federal mobile COVID-19 vaccination units are coming to the Eastern Shore.
Under a plan announced Monday by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, appointments will target people who live in remote areas or are considered socially vulnerable. Appointments to get the shot will be made through the local county health departments.
FEMA will fund and operate the 32-foot-long mobile units, which will be staffed by trained vaccinators and clinical staff from county, state and federal agencies.
We continue to expand our vaccine distribution network to maximize points of distribution in every jurisdiction, which will now include the nation’s first federally-operated mobile vaccination units,” Hogan said. “These federal units will complement the Maryland Vaccine Equity Task Force’s mobile clinics and help us get more shots into the arms of our most vulnerable populations. I want to thank the White House, FEMA, and all of our federal partners for working with us to expand our vaccination efforts.”
Officials say this is also a good way to serve workforces in poultry processing and manufacturing, minority and migrant populations, and people who do not have transportation available to get to a standard vaccination site.
“From the start, our team has worked with the federal government to provide vaccine equity for all Marylanders,” Acting Secretary Dennis R. Schrader of the Maryland Department of Health said. “We’re excited to be the first state in the nation to include a collaboration with FEMA in our mobile vaccination efforts, and we are pleased to offer Marylanders near the path of these units the opportunity to get vaccinated close to home.”
“Throughout this entire vaccine mission, we’ve been fighting two enemies: a virus and the inequities it has caused,” Acting FEMA Region 3 Administrator Janice Barlow said. “These mobile units will ensure that we reach the underserved in their neighborhoods, where they live, and bring us one step closer to winning the war against COVID-19.”
