Sunday, January 31, 2021

Updates on Maryland’s COVID -19 Vaccine Plan as of January 21, 2021

01212021 Maryland Vaccine D... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Dr. Theresa Chapple: This study is important, and could possibly shed some additional light on why some studies haven't found #COVID19 spread in #Schools at higher levels. Could the flaw be in our contact tracing methods and subsequently under testing? Let's explore.

 

This study, like others I've elevated, found that #SARSCoV2 was spreading in contacts

 less than 15 minutes, and while eating (and other unmasked), less than 5 minutes.

If we keep defining close contact as 15 minutes, we're excluding those who has

 shorter contacts, especially during unmasked activities, like school breakfast and lunch.

 Those students & teachers/staff aren't being informed that they may have been

 exposed, not quarantined... 

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1355193117348130818.html

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Breaking: Montgomery County Must Set Aside 100 Vaccines a Week for Educators and that is to Include Private School Staff.

MEMORANDUM To: All Local Health Officers and all COVID-19 Vaccine Providers


From: Dennis R. Schrader, Acting Secretary
Dr. Jinlene Chan, Acting Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services
Cc: Dr. Karen Salmon, Ph.D., State Superintendent of Schools Nonpublic Schools

Subject: Phase 1B: Educators - Vaccination of Nonpublic School Faculty and Staff
Date: January 30, 2021

It is the health policy of the State of Maryland that nonpublic schools may not be excluded from any COVID-19 vaccine provider who is administering COVID-19 vaccine to educators.

Any COVID-19 vaccine provider who refuses the vaccination of nonpublic school staff while administering vaccines to public school system employees will have future vaccine allocations reduced or reallocated to providers that comply with the MDH Vaccination Matters Order and COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Bulletins.

Please see the attached Week 8 bulletin, which states that “local health departments should set aside at least 100 doses per week from their overall allocation for Phase 1B educators in their jurisdiction. This allocation should be set aside until jurisdictions have vaccinated all of their educators.” 

Additionally, please see Section 8, Education: page 9 of the bulletin, “Educational facilities include: licensed childcare facilities; K-12:  both public school systems and nonpublic schools; and higher educational institutions.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please see the attached Week 8 bulletin, which states that “local health departments should set aside at least 100 doses per week from their overall allocation for Phase 1B educators in their jurisdiction.

Each local health department will receive the following minimum allocation of first doses each week going forward:

Montgomery County Health Department 975

2021.01.28.a - MDH Notice -... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Friday, January 29, 2021

Dr. Theresa Chapple: My thoughts on the study from Wisconsin schools- a 🧵"COVID-19 Cases and Transmission in 17 K–12 Schools — Wood County, Wisconsin, August 31–November 29, 2020

My thoughts on the study from Wisconsin schools- a 🧵 "COVID-19 Cases and Transmission in 17 K–12 Schools — Wood County, Wisconsin, August 31–November 29, 2020 | MMWR" cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/7… 

About a week ago I mentioned that the studies we have on Covid in schools were not well done. The recent CDC study based on Wisconsin schools is the best I've seen so far. It describes mitigation strategies & tracks community positivity rates & school positivity rates. 

Mitigation- mask wearing in & outdoors, not just cohorting children, but basically assigning close contacts and keeping those as the only close contacts throughout the entire day (I'm imagining this means you sit in class and lunch next to the same person). 

I really liked that the school provided masks to everyone, instead of people using their own of varying quality. I do wish they reported on mask wearing of teachers and staff. And need to point out that only about half the schools shared data on consistent mask use. 

This point is important because they also relied on schools for some contract tracing. Could we be seeing a reporting bias here? Reporting just the good data? but I'll get back to that. 

I'm wondering why the contract tracing was not solely conducted by an independent group, like the health department, or maybe even the researchers that implemented the study. As well done as this study was, here's some other concerns.

Yesterday news report said a) 7 people got it in schools, b) too much community spread to know where 184 others got it. 

So can we rule out schools? You may say contact tracing. 

By not treating the entire cohort as contacts, are we ignoring the studies that found substantial spread within short periods of unmasked time, further distance than 6 feet? So maybe this 184 were not seen as close contacts, but we're exposed www-mlive-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.mlive.… I would be most concerned about that happening during meal times and would broaden who is considered a contact to match what we've learned from restaurant studies. 

2. What's the testing rate of people in schools compared to the community? We saw the postivity rates, but did we have undertesting in the school group? 

3. why not incentivize testing of those quarantined so we can answer the question of asymptomatic kids deflating the rates? 

4. While I feel this was a better conducted study than all others to date, I haven't come to the conclusion that schools can reopen safely. 

That conclusion doesn't seem to take into account the ridiculously high rates of covid reported in the study's schools. Yes, it was lower than the community, but that can't be our threshold. 

How does that fly? Are we really willing to say the community rates are horrendous, but in school rates are just horrible, so let's open up? 

This is not an approach to reduce or prevent Covid-19, related illnesses, or death. This is an approach driven by numbness. We're numb to high rates of Covid, overcrowded hospitals, and rising death tolls.

 As I stated a few days ago, we shouldn't be asking should schools open, we should be asking why aren't we shutting things down while providing massive financial and mental health support to all. 

You can follow @Theresa_Chapple


https://threader.app/thread/1354541848325484544

Under an EUA [Emergency Use Authorization], Can Businesses Require Employees and Customers to Get Vaccinated?


As promising data emerges for COVID-19 vaccines in clinical trials, two manufacturers of these vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, have submitted requests for Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA).

An EUA would allow vaccines to be used before full FDA approval, during the time that COVID-19 is an emergency.

The promise of a safe, effective vaccine offers a glimmer of hope not just for individuals around the world affected by the pandemic, but also for businesses large and small that have struggled with closures and public health-related changes to operations. A natural question that has emerged as private businesses contemplate a return to normalcy is whether they can mandate that employees and customers receive these vaccines authorized for emergency use.

In the past, members of FDA and CDC have said that the answer is no. However, the answer may not be so clear. This post looks at the relevant statutory provision to examine whether an EUA can accommodate mandates...

https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2020/11/30/covid-vaccine-eua-mandate-business/

Thursday, January 28, 2021

Here are five ways the government could have avoided 100,000 Covid deaths


Yesterday Britain passed a grim milestone. A further 1,631 deaths from Covid-19 were recorded, taking the official tally above 100,000, though data from the Office for National Statistics suggests the total number will now be nearer 120,000. In a briefing, Boris Johnson has said his government did everything it could to minimise the loss of life, but these deaths were far from inevitable. While the number of UK deaths has entered the hundreds of thousands, New Zealand has recorded only 25 deaths from Covid-19 so far. Taiwan has recorded seven, Australia 909, Finland 655, Norway 550 and Singapore 29. These countries have largely returned to normal daily life.

In the first year of the pandemic, the UK faced three big challenges. Our national government had no long-term strategy for suppressing the virus beyond a continual cycle of lockdowns. Even now we still don’t know what the government’s plans for the next six months are. In the early days of the pandemic, the UK treated Covid-19 like a bad flu. The government halted testing, and the initial plan seemed to be allow the virus to run unchecked through the population (the “herd immunity” approach). Finally, ministers have pitted the economy against public health, instead of realising that the health of the economy depends upon a healthy population.

Those in the anti-lockdown camp mistakenly believe that we could have traded these deaths for a “normal life” and a strong economy. Yet this isn’t how Covid has played out in any country in the world. Either you reopen the economy before the virus is under control, and endure thousands of deaths, or you manage your public health problem before getting the economy going again...

...While it is easy to be consumed by anger, grief, frustration and depression at this moment, we must keep looking forward for a path through this crisis. We must never have a winter like this again, and we need a concrete plan and strategy to make sure Britain does not face a third wave and a fourth lockdown. This must involve suppressing transmission, building a functioning test, trace, isolate and support system, guarding against the reimportation of infections with strict travel restrictions, while trying to reopen schools and as much of the domestic economy as possible...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/27/five-ways-the-government-could-have-avoided-100000-covid-deaths

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

COVID-19 Outbreaks at 5 Montgomery County Private Schools: Avalon, Brookewood, Georgetown Prep, Heights, and Primary Day.

Annapolis Area Christian School Anne Arundel County 3 01/27/21

School of the Incarnation Anne Arundel County 4 01/27/21

Cheder Chabad School Baltimore City 2 01/27/21

Bais Yaakov Eva Winer High School Baltimore County 44 01/27/21

Bais Yaakov Middle School Baltimore County 3 01/27/21

Bais Yaakov School for Girls Baltimore County 3 01/27/21

Calvert Hall College High School Baltimore County 7 01/27/21

Oldfields School Baltimore County 1 01/27/21

Talmudical Academy of Baltimore Baltimore County 56 01/27/21

Torah Institute of Baltimore Baltimore County 26 01/27/21

Parr's Ridge Elementary Carroll County 2 01/27/21

Runnymede Elementary Carroll County 2 01/27/21

William Winchester Elementary Carroll County 4 01/27/21

Resurrection St. Paul School Howard County 8 01/27/21

The Avalon School Montgomery County 3 01/27/21

Brookewood School Montgomery County 3 01/27/21

Georgetown Preparatory School Montgomery County 4 01/27/21

The Heights School Montgomery County 4 01/27/21

The Primary Day School Montgomery County 2 01/27/21

Bishop McNamara High Prince George's County 10 01/27/21

DeMatha Catholic High School Prince George's County 2 01/27/21

Little Flower School St. Mary's County 3 01/27/21

St. Mary's Ryken High School St. Mary's County 2 01/27/21

Heritage Academy Washington County 2 01/27/21

Salisbury Christian School Wicomico County 5 01/27/21

St. Francis de Sales Catholic School Wicomico County 6 01/27/21


As a reminder, the Maryland Dashboard uses the following criteria for reporting COVID-19 cases.  Not all cases are reported, only those that satisfy the following criteria.

  Note: This dataset reflects public and non-public K-12 schools in Maryland that have COVID-19 outbreaks. Data are based on local health department reports to MDH, which may be revised if additional information becomes available. This list does not include child care facilities or institutes of higher education.

Schools listed meet 1 or more of the following criteria:

    1) At least two confirmed COVID-19 cases among students/teachers/staff within a 14-day period and who are epidemiologically linked, but not household contacts; or

    2) Three or more classrooms or cohorts with cases from separate households that meet the classroom/cohort outbreak definition that occurs within 14 days; or

    3) Five percent or more unrelated students/teachers/staff have confirmed COVID-19 within a 14 day period (minimum of 10 unrelated students/teachers/staff).

Cases reported reflect the current total number of cases. Schools are removed from the list when health officials determine 14 days have passed with no new cases and no tests pending. Archival data is available through the COVID-19 open data catalogue.

These data are updated weekly on Wednesdays during the 10 a.m. hour. MDH is continuously evaluating its data and reporting systems and will make updates as more data becomes available.

 https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/school-resources

Lawsuit alleges officers harassed and assaulted 5-year-old kindergartner

 Now on CNN. Full story here. Reporters Madeline Holcombe and Artemis Moshtaghian

(CNN)Two Maryland police officers have been accused of screaming at, grabbing and threatening a 5-year-old elementary school student.

The boy's mother, Shanta Grant, filed a lawsuit this month against Montgomery County Police Officers Dionne Holliday and Kevin Christmon -- as well as Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Board of Education.
The Montgomery County Department of Police told CNN it does not comment on ongoing or pending litigation. CNN was not able to reach Officer Holliday. Officer Christmon declined to comment to CNN.
And:
The boy "was scared and did not want to get into the police car. Christmon grabbed (the boy) and placed him in the squad car," the complaint alleges. "This was extremely frightening to (the boy) because he thought he was going to be taken to jail."
A school employee, believed to be assistant principal at East Silver Spring Elementary School, stood by and did nothing to de-escalate the situation, according to the complaint. The assistant principal is not a defendant in the lawsuit.


Tuesday, January 26, 2021

What "open" will mean at UPENN: "...the program aims to conduct 40,000 COVID-19 tests each week..."

...The infrastructure developed through Project Quaker will allow Penn to conduct 40,000 saliva-based COVID-19 tests every week. This includes twice-weekly tests for undergraduate students and those living on campus and weekly tests for graduate students, faculty, and staff who come to campus or who have regular contact with the campus community.

The goal is to test broadly and repeatedly to identify individuals with COVID-19 as early as possible in order to shut down transmission. The strategy incorporates approaches that have proven successful on other college campuses. “What we focused on here is screening testing,” says Dubé about Project Quaker’s design. “This is one of our public health tools that allows us to monitor disease. If we see a rise in cases, it tells us that we need to change the restrictions that we put on members of our community.”..

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/project-quaker-testing-program-key-safe-campus-reopening

Monday, January 25, 2021

MCPS Now Reporting 312 Staff COVID-19 Positive and 32 Staff Currently Quarantined

 



Gov. Larry Hogan insults county health officer on Facebook; County Executive Steuart Pittman says let’s talk


In response to a comment on a Facebook post on his page Thursday, Gov. Larry Hogan told a constituent that Anne Arundel County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman “doesn’t really know what he is talking about.”

Readers reached out to The Capital to point out the response, in which Hogan dismisses the knowledge of a person whose appointment he approved less than two years ago. In a statement, County Executive Steuart Pittman invited Hogan to speak with Kalyanaraman, who declined to comment for this story...

https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/ac-cn-hogan-comment-0126-20210125-uepswh5wonbe3ibjjtzv5lsutq-story.html?fbclid=IwAR0UARTVd9C89-JldOQN5-ACF4BacaHW28PWXlYsvS-yWAIDlavXZPpvul8

Montgomery Co. parent says bodycams show police abuse, threaten child inside school


The parent of a Montgomery County Public Schools student is suing both the school system and the county police department following an incident in 2020 involving her Maryland child.

Parent Shanta Grant, who filed the lawsuit, said her son was able to walk away from East Silver Spring Elementary last year without being noticed. She said once police found the boy, about two-tenths of a mile away, officers were verbally abusive, threatening, and even put a handcuff on the child once he was taken back to the school...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2021/01/montgomery-co-parent-says-body-cams-show-police-abuse-threaten-child-inside-mcps-school/?fbclid=IwAR2ATtlMLzxZuTG86PO_num2qezaqq34K6D42RK_W7runJWoz_USEfhjkQ8

Watkins Mill HS: Smith’s departure leaves room for growth in Montgomery County

 


In light of the recent news of Superintendent Jack Smith retiring, it is imperative that MCPS be on the search for a new superintendent who is inclusive, specifically a new superintendent who is more interested in authentic student learning than numbers and data. 

Since 1991, MCPS has had only one Black superintendent, and none of them were female. Since 1991, MCPS has undergone a major shift in demographics, as white flight in certain neighborhoods continues to encourage inequities in funding, learning and health resources. I strongly urge that MCPS searches for a candidate who is more than willing to examine the properties of authentic learning, rather than statistics...

https://wmcurrent.com/27215/opinion/smiths-departure-leaves-room-for-growth-in-montgomery-county/

Saturday, January 23, 2021

Dr Ellie Murray: We need to do now what we should have done last Spring: shut it all down, provide funds to support people & businesses thru closure and—here’s the key—USE THE TIME TO IMPLEMENT GOOD RESPONSE. That means: better testing & vaccine logistics, ventilation in schools & workplaces...

We need to do now what we should have done last Spring: shut it all down, provide funds to support people & businesses thru closure and—here’s the key—USE THE TIME TO IMPLEMENT GOOD RESPONSE. That means: better testing & vaccine logistics, ventilation in schools & workplaces...

...improved production & distribution of N95 masks for everyone, improve internet access to allow wfh & school from home for those who *can* continue with that, safe opening plans for every type of workplace, universal paid quarantine & sick leave, open up parks & beaches... 
...public health educational campaigns that teach everyone the basics of how viruses work (and while we’re at it, lets add some bacterial info to combat overuse of antibiotics), extended eviction moratoriums, actual oversight & accountability for workplace safety... 
...basic income + increased minimum wage, authorization for expanded roles for nurse practitioners, expanded authorization for vaccination delivery by dentists, authorize telemedicine across state borders so students & others can continue to access care while not on campus... 
...national COVID information hotline to help combat misinformation, permanently expanded public health workforce at federal & state & local levels, a coordinated set of COVID research priorities to answer important unknowns and a rolling rapid COVID funding application system... 
...a COVID cohort study that helps us understand and identify and treat Long COVID, widespread access to rapid at home COVID tests, scaled up genomic tracking to identify current & future COVID variants in circulation... 
...hazard pay and PPE and vaccine priority for all essential workers, funding & support to ensure long term care workers don’t need to take 2nd jobs, decarceration with housing & monetary support to decrease crowding & COVID in jails & prisons & other detention sites... 
....limits on non-essential travel including interstate & international travel, mask mandates combined with easy access to cheap and effective masks, federal guidelines on how local transmission levels should drive opening & closing plans and a single clear set of opening levels. 
Okay, there’s probably more, and a lot of these things are outlined in the Biden administration’s new COVID plan, so I hope they are actually gonna happen and sooner rather than lager. 
But that clip of Biden saying there’s nothing we can do to change the trajectory over the next couple months worries me because we do not have to wait & we do not have to accept this level of death & illness. We can shut down. And we can do all of this ☝🏼 
One more addition to the list, thanks to Dr @JuliaRaifman: we need to identify & support children who lost a parent or guardian to the pandemic—the government should be responsible for making sure they get the financial, emotional, & medical help they need. 

Friday, January 22, 2021

COVID-19 cases, new syndrome on the rise among children, especially Latino children


At least seven California children have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, more than 350,000 kids have tested positive for the virus and the number of youngsters diagnosed with a new, rare inflammatory syndrome continues to spread.

All of these stats are on the rise just as a new highly contagious strain of the virus is worrying parents and experts alike and as the state tries to move toward reopening schools next month...

https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2021/01/covid-new-syndrome-children/

Thursday, January 21, 2021

MCPS Now Reporting 281 Staff COVID-19 Positive and 43 Staff Currently Quarantined

 


Previous COVID Positive Staff Cases and Quarantined totals. 

COVID-19 Outbreak at MCPS Elementary School - College Gardens ES in Rockville. Still on MSDE Dashboard. The Heights School added to List.

The Maryland Outbreak-Associated Cases in Schools database does not give any details about the COVID-19 outbreak at College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville, but we know that the elementary school is one of the privately run Equity Hubs being sponsored and paid for by MCPS, the Board of Education and Montgomery County Government.  

This is the fourth week this school has been on the Maryland Dashboard.

Who oversees these Equity Hubs? How were these locations selected? Were changes made to the ventilation for these select schools? How are COVID-19 outbreaks in Equity Hubs being supervised and handled? Is this the first outbreak at one of these "hubs" or is this just the first one being reported?

Annapolis Area Christian School Anne Arundel County 3 01/20/21

School of Incarnation Anne Arundel County 3 01/20/21

The Harbour School Anne Arundel County 3 01/20/21

Harlem Park Baltimore City 2 01/20/21

Bais Yaakov Eva Winer High School Baltimore County 37 01/20/21

Bais Yaakov School for Girls Baltimore County 3 01/20/21

Calvert Hall College Preparatory School Baltimore County 7 01/20/21

Talmudical Academy of Baltimore Baltimore County 48 01/20/21

Torah Institute of Baltimore Baltimore County 26 01/20/21

Sunderland Elementary School Calvert County 4 01/20/21

The Young School at Kendall Ridge Howard County 1 01/20/21

College Garden Elementary Montgomery County 2 01/20/21

The Heights School Montgomery County 4 01/20/21

Bishop McNamara High Prince George's County 9 01/20/21

Heritage Academy Washington County 2 01/20/21

Salsbury Christian School Wicomico County 2 01/20/21

As a reminder, the Maryland Dashboard uses the following criteria for reporting COVID-19 cases.  Not all cases are reported, only those that satisfy the following criteria.

  Note: This dataset reflects public and non-public K-12 schools in Maryland that have COVID-19 outbreaks. Data are based on local health department reports to MDH, which may be revised if additional information becomes available. This list does not include child care facilities or institutes of higher education.

Schools listed meet 1 or more of the following criteria:

    1) At least two confirmed COVID-19 cases among students/teachers/staff within a 14-day period and who are epidemiologically linked, but not household contacts; or

    2) Three or more classrooms or cohorts with cases from separate households that meet the classroom/cohort outbreak definition that occurs within 14 days; or

    3) Five percent or more unrelated students/teachers/staff have confirmed COVID-19 within a 14 day period (minimum of 10 unrelated students/teachers/staff).

Cases reported reflect the current total number of cases. Schools are removed from the list when health officials determine 14 days have passed with no new cases and no tests pending. Archival data is available through the COVID-19 open data catalogue.

These data are updated weekly on Wednesdays during the 10 a.m. hour. MDH is continuously evaluating its data and reporting systems and will make updates as more data becomes available.

 https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/school-resources




Tuesday, January 19, 2021

PCMC Exclusive: Maryland FY 2022 Operating Budget includes nearly $7.5 billion for K-12 education

The FY2022 Operating Budget, due for general release tomorrow, includes nearly $7.5 billion dollars for K-12 education.

The FY2022 Operating Budget Highlights book (216 pages) is available at:

https://dbm.maryland.gov/budget/Documents/operbudget/2022/proposed/FY2022MarylandStateBudgetHighlights.pdf



For the first time ever, there will be a special live broadcast of the Inauguration made especially for students and families.

Court Tosses Conviction Of One Defendant In Murder Of Teens


ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland appeals court has overturned the convictions of one of four men who were found guilty in the killings of two Maryland high school students on the eve of their graduation.

The Court of Special Appeals ruled Thursday that a trial judge erred in preventing attorneys for Rony Galicia from eliciting evidence to show that statements that codefendant Edgar Garcia-Gaona made to his girlfriend after the killings implicated other suspects in the case but not Galicia.

Authorities have said that 18-year-old Artem Ziberov and 17-year-old Shadi Najjar were lured to a residential neighborhood in Montgomery Village in June 2017 on the belief that they’d be selling an extra ticket to their graduation ceremony for Northwest High School...

https://hosted.ap.org/article/c4fd5f925068722a517bf2b4826b6dad/court-tosses-conviction-one-defendant-murder-teens

2008: Jenna Bush Hager introduces Malia and Sasha Obama to the White House.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHbsWyLL2M_/

Monday, January 18, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccination Virtual Town Hall, Montgomery County Council, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.

 

Virtual Community Town Hall with Public Health Leaders Focused on COVID-19 Vaccinations Hosted by the Montgomery County Council on Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.

For Immediate Release: Thursday, January 14, 2021

ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 14, 2021—The Montgomery County Council will hold a virtual town hall meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. focused on the COVID-19 vaccination program in our community. County Executive Marc Elrich will join the meeting along with Montgomery County Deputy Health Officer James Bridgers, Montgomery County Latino Health Initiative Senior Manager Sonia Mora, Latino Health Steering Committee Co-Chair Monica Escalante, African American Health Program Executive Commitee Co-Chair Beatrice Miller and other public health representatives.

This town hall will provide the latest information on the vaccine rollout plan in Montgomery County, describe the priority order for vaccinations mandated by the state government based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and give residents a forum to get their specific questions answered directly by public health representatives.

“Vaccine distribution has begun across the country and we are all eager to get vaccinated quickly and protect the most vulnerable in our community,” Council President Hucker said. “Still, there is a lot of confusion about vaccine rollout plans. The Council, along with our county's top health officials, will provide clarity on Montgomery County’s vaccine distribution plan and answer all your vaccine-related questions during this important town hall. We hope you can join us.”

“Across the country, our state, and our county, the distribution of vaccines has finally begun. Vaccinations serve as a vital tool to help protect and mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 in our community,” Council Vice President Albornoz said. “As we navigate the next critical phase of this epidemic, we are working hard to address the challenges the vaccine rollout currently presents and ensure public health is protected for all.”

The members of the Montgomery County Council include: Council President Tom Hucker, Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz and Councilmembers, Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass, Will Jawando, Nancy Navarro, Craig Rice, Sidney Katz and Hans Riemer.

The virtual town hall will be held through a Zoom webinar. Councilmembers and staff from the Department of Health and Human Services will have breakout rooms for community members to attend and ask their questions and voice their concerns. One breakout room will be dedicated to community members who speak Spanish.

Community members must register ahead of time to participate in the virtual town hall through Zoom by clicking here. The Council must receive your registration by Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. Residents will receive an email confirmation with the appropriate Zoom information to participate. Residents without internet access can call 240-777-7931 and leave a message to register.

The virtual town hall meeting will be televised on County Cable Montgomery on channels 30 (Fios), 1056 (RCN) and 996 (Xfinity). The meeting will be streamed on Facebook (MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil) and YouTube (MoCoCouncilMd). Residents also can listen to the virtual town hall meeting by calling 240-777-3333.

For more information or questions contact Juan Jovel at Juan.Jovel@montgomerycountymd.gov or call 240-777-7931. If you need assistance to participate in this meeting or in any Council activity, please contact the Council as far in advance as possible at 240-777-7900 or send an email to County.Council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

###

The same Zoom link for the meeting can also be found at: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcocuysqzksH9SwGtSnEFlRQ8dr-bpFdNRx
Release ID: 21-012
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926 , Juan Jovel 240-777-7931