Citing official Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Dec. 11 said that 90% of all Maryland residents who are 18 years old and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement posted on the governor’s website.

According to the CDC — as of 9:20 p.m., EST, on Dec. 14 — there were about 50.1 million COVID-19 cases in the United States, and about 486.6 million total vaccines administered in the country.

The CDC website also noted that — as of 9:25 p.m., EST, on Dec. 14 — in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, community transmission was low transmission, and it has been 15 days since community transmission was at a high or substantial level. The CDC said that, as outlined in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) in July, such prevention measures as masking should only be relaxed after several weeks of sustained improvement out of a level of high or substantial transmission. Regardless of transmission level, unvaccinated individuals should continue prevention measures, including wearing a mask in indoor public settings, the CDC said.

According to Hogan’s statement, the governor on Dec. 9 announced that Maryland has expanded eligibility for booster shots to include all Maryland residents who are 16 years old and older. As of Dec. 11, Maryland was reporting about 1.2 million booster shots administered, according to the statement, which also noted that almost 60% of Maryland’s eligible seniors have received a booster shot.

According to the statement, individuals may find a vaccine clinic online, or by calling Maryland’s multilingual call center at 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

As noted in a Dec. 3 statement from the governor, state health officials have confirmed the first three cases in Maryland residents of the COVID-19 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529), which was designated on Nov. 26 by the World Health Organization as a variant of concern. All three of the cases involve individuals from the Baltimore Metropolitan Region, and none of those individuals are hospitalized, the Dec. 3 statement added.

Viruses constantly change, or mutate, and new variants of viruses are expected to occur over time, the statement noted, adding that other such variants identified in Maryland include the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), and the Beta variant (B.1.351), which were identified in the state in January; the Gamma variant (P.1), which was identified in Maryland in February; as well as the Delta variant (B.1.617.2), which was identified in Maryland in the spring. Of those variants, only Delta and Omicron are still considered variants of concern, the statement noted, adding that Delta remains the dominant variant, representing more than 99% of circulating strains sequenced in Maryland and the United States.

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