March 16, 2021

Media Contact:

Deidre McCabe, Director, Office of Communications, 410-767-3536

Charles Gischlar, Deputy Director, Office of Communications, 410-767-6491

Maryland Department of Health announces GoVAX virtual town hall series

Live events to feature medical professionals, subject matter experts and community advocates to answer questions and provide information about COVID-19 vaccines

Baltimore, MD – The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) is conducting a series of virtual town halls to encourage all Marylanders to protect themselves, their families and communities by getting vaccinated against COVID-19 when they become eligible. Produced in partnership with Telemundo and Radio One, the town halls will offer interactive, live opportunities for Marylanders to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines and Maryland’s vaccination plan.

“These town halls enable us to provide information to Marylanders directly, while hearing from community leaders whom our citizens trust,” said MDH Acting Secretary Dennis R. Schrader. “By using these broadly accessible channels—especially as we reach more underserved and vulnerable Marylanders—we can ensure more people will get the information they need to take action and get vaccinated.”

The town halls support GoVAX, the state’s grassroots public outreach and equity campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccine confidence. All town halls will feature GoVAX Ambassadors and will provide a mix of medical professionals, subject matter experts and community advocates on each panel to address a broad spectrum of questions. The town halls are open for all Marylanders to participate in real time and will last 45 minutes to an hour. Each session will be reposted for later access.

The schedule is as follows:

Tues., March 16 at 7 p.m.: Telemundo Health Expo Town Hall

• Hosts: Nester Alvarenga and Veronica Cool

• Panelists:

  • Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Maryland Delegate

  • Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA de Maryland 

  • Rafael Laveaga, Chief of Consular Section, Embassy of Mexico

  • Dr. Anna Maria Izquierdo-Porrera MD, PhD, Executive Director, Care for Your Health, Inc.

Event access: https://www.facebook.com/MDHealthDept

Note: This event will be in Spanish

Thurs., March 18 at 6:30 p.m.: Radio One Town Hall 

• Host: Cheryl Jackson

• Panelists:

  • Dr. Jayne Morgan, MD, Clinical Director of the Covid Task Force at the Piedmont Healthcare Corporation in Atlanta, GA

  • Dr. Mark Martin, PhD, MBA, Deputy Director, Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, Maryland Department of Health

  • Bryan Mroz, Assistant Secretary, Maryland Department of Health

Event access:

• PraiseDC:

https://praisedc.com/events/govax-lets-end-covid-maryland-virtual-town-hall/

• KYSDC:

https://kysdc.com/events/govax-lets-end-covid-maryland-virtual-town-hall/

• MyMajicDC:

https://mymajicdc.com/events/govax-lets-end-covid-maryland-virtual-town-hall/

Tues., March 30 at 6:30 p.m.: Radio One Town Hall

• Host: DJ Persia

• Panelists:

  • Dr. Jayne Morgan, MD, Clinical Director of the Covid Task Force at the Piedmont Healthcare Corporation in Atlanta, GA

  • Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, PhD, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

  • Dr. Jinlene Chan, MD, Acting Deputy Secretary of Public Health and Chief Medical Officer, Maryland Department of Health

Event access: Check https://www.facebook.com/MDHealthDept for link updates prior to the event.

To date, Maryland has administered more than 1.9 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, contributing to more than 710,000 Marylanders being fully vaccinated statewide. 

For more information about COVID-19 vaccines in Maryland—including GoVAX campaign media, vaccine resources, fact sheets and FAQs—visit covidLINK.maryland.gov.

For the most recent Maryland COVID-19 vaccine data, visit coronavirus.maryland.gov.

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The Maryland Department of Health is dedicated to protecting and improving the health and safety of all Marylanders through disease prevention, access to care, quality management and community engagement.