March 26, 2021

Media Contacts:

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

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

Acting Secretary Dennis R. Schrader visits Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church vaccination site with Brigadier General Janeen Birckhead, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, and Baltimore Community Leaders

BALTIMORE, MD—Today, Maryland Department of Health (MDH) Acting Secretary Dennis R. Schrader visited Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in East Baltimore, where a vaccination clinic supported by Johns Hopkins University and the Maryland Vaccine Equity Task Force (VETF) provided second-dose vaccinations to members of the Hispanic and LatinX community. 

Maryland National Guard Brigadier General Jannen Birckhead, the head of the VETF, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and Dr. Kathleen Page, Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and GoVAX Ambassador, joined Acting Secretary Schrader at the clinic.

On February 26, the VETF partnered with Bishop Lewandowski and John Hopkins to host a clinic at Sacred Heart of Jesus to administer 176 first-dose vaccinations. 

“Partnering with Sacred Heart of Jesus and community leaders like Bishop Lewandowski and Dr. Page is key to pulling in people to receive a vaccine,” said Acting Secretary Dennis R. Schrader. 'I look forward to continuing to come out into the community and work with local leaders to bring vaccines directly to even more vulnerable and minority communities.'

Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, Acting Secretary Dennis R. Schrader, and GoVAX Ambassador Dr. Kathleen Page at Sacred Heart of Jesus in East Baltimore.

Maryland National Guard Brigadier General Birckhead, head of Maryland’s Vaccine Equity Task Force, addresses local media at Sacred Heart of Jesus in East Baltimore

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