Moreover, for those who are 75 years old or older, you can pre-register with Montgomery County for a vaccination appointment here.
For those interested in the data or other information, the state Department of Health maintains this site. As of last week, Maryland was receiving approximately 10,000 doses of vaccine a day which is obviously an insufficient amount given our population and the fact that two doses are needed. But the fact that we do not have the capacity to use 100% of that daily allocation is also unacceptable. Opening up the vaccine to Phases 1B (primarily those 75 and older) and 1C (primarily those 65 and older, as will occur on January 25th) will help ensure there is plenty of demand but does not help with the supply from the federal government or the delivery issues. The fact that vaccines are allocated to different "delivery mechanisms" (my own term) such as the County Departments of Health; local hospitals; some pharmacies, may help get the vaccine out faster but primarily causes confusion. That said, I will continue to address the questions and concerns you send me as we work through this. And a particular shout-out to our contacts at the State and County Departments of Health and my seatmate, Delegate Kelly, who have helped respond to many of your questions. The County is also requesting residents fill out the community survey regarding the vaccine: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/survey.html As always, you can keep up with what I am doing by following me at @mkorman on Twitter or by clicking "Like" on Delegate Marc Korman on Facebook. Legislative News The legislative session is off to a fast start in committees. In a normal legislative year we begin with short floor sessions--because no legislation has been passed by committees at this early date--and committee briefings. For the 2021 legislative session, we held most of the briefings remotely ahead of time at the end of 2020 and are going straight to bill hearings while skipping the short, largely ceremonial floor sessions. One of my bills is among those being heard this week and relates to budget reductions when the legislature is not in session. ----- Last week, Speaker Adrienne Jones named me House Chair of the Spending Affordability Committee (SAC), a joint committee established in state law that annually recommends to the General Assembly and Governor the recommended level of state spending; recommended level of new debt authorization for construction; recommended level of state personnel/employees; recommended uses of any anticipated surplus; and other findings and recommendations. I am excited to take on this new and wonky budget role. ----- As legislative hearings begin, we have received a number of questions regarding how to sign-up to testify remotely. The General Assembly has released a video tutorials you can view here. Transportation News I am a co-founder of the Maryland Transit Caucus. This year, we are holding our meetings remotely and they can be viewed on our Caucus YouTube channel. The first meeting held earlier this week was on the Greater Washington Partnership's Capital Rail Vision. Here is the schedule of upcoming meetings and their topic: Monday January 25, 2020 at 11am: Transit Workforce Issues Monday February 1, 2020 at 11am: Vision Zero Monday February 8, 2020 at 11am: Regional Transit Plan for Central Maryland COVID-19 Montgomery County is decoupled from the statewide changes to what is open and what is not to deal with the public health crisis. You can track the current rules in Montgomery County here. The County's COVID-19 data dashboard can be viewed online as well. There is also a state dashboard online. I also recommend tracking state vaccine data here: And you can see our progress in the national and international context here. ----- Many of you are trying to navigate the state's unemployment system, which was simply not equipped for the volume or complexity of the current caseload. The Department of Labor website (https://www.dllr.state.md.us/employment/uibenefits.shtml) is your entryway for unemployment benefits. If you are having trouble with unemployment and live in District 16, you can fill out our District 16 constituent service Google form for assistance here. The District 16 Team has been in regular contact with the Department of Labor to try and resolve individual cases. Community Events
If you know of an upcoming District 16 event or a District 16 resident who merits recognition or condolences, please email marc@marckorman.com. Comments are closed.
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January 2023
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