‘Light at the end of the tunnel’: Carroll County’s health officer, commissioners discuss COVID-19 vaccine

Board of Carroll County Commissioners President Stephen Wantz began Thursday morning’s open session with his mask on as a reminder, he said, for people to remain vigilant and continue practicing health and safety protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We [aren’t] out of the woods yet,” Wantz said before teasing the first item on the commissioners’ agenda. It focused on the potential for a coronavirus vaccine to be ready in the coming weeks, something the county’s top-ranking health official described as good news.

Health Officer Ed Singer joked with the commissioners that he feels like a “grim reaper” when he joins their weekly meetings to share coronavirus information, but talking about a vaccine bucked that trend. Singer said the state’s first round of vaccines consists of some 150,000 doses, as Gov. Larry Hogan announced Dec. 1.

The priority level during this first phase of vaccination is going to focus on front-line health care workers, Singer said, as well those who fall within a vulnerable population group, such as living facilities.

“So while the vaccine is coming out and that’s really good news, I want to temper that with people understanding that it’s probably not going to be available to the general public for several more months,” Singer said during the meeting. “But several more months is closer … there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Getting this up and getting started, we’ll see this kind of grow just like we did with the testing capacity. The ability to get people vaccinated will grow as the vaccine rolls out.”

The county commissioners discussed how Carroll’s communities have performed amid the pandemic by practicing social distancing and wearing face coverings when necessary.

“We are not out of control. We are in a very dangerous situation,” said Ed Rothstein, R-District 5, who assumed the number of virus-related deaths will continue to rise before vaccines become available to the general public. “I look forward to the vaccines working and serving our communities, but we a have long, long ways to go.”

Rothstein said it’s up to the commissioners to lead by example. Businesses and communities can follow, and the county can work together to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“It’s one of those ‘lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way’ type of attitude,” Rothstein said. “I’m getting too close to too many folks that are getting sick, and I don’t like it. So I’ve got to figure out, how can we do better? What we’re doing right now is not working. We’ve got to continue to ramp it up.”

Carroll County has seen 3,527 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, and 166 deaths. Through Friday, Carroll’s weekly total was up to 240 after seeing 269 last week and a record 323 the previous week. The county’s positivity rate, reported as a seven-day rolling average, rose to 6.1%.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials are set to hold a public meeting next week to assess the vaccine data. Should one or more of the candidates be confirmed, Maryland will likely receive an initial rollout of about 155,000 doses, about half the volume needed to vaccinate the state’s “essential” health care workers, Hogan said last week at a news conference. The 155,000 includes only the first of the two doses needed, with a second set of doses to come later.

Maryland health officials have developed a draft mass vaccination plan that they say is still evolving. But it follows national guidance in putting the priority on health care workers followed by those in nursing homes and first responders.

Hogan said the draft has been submitted to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The commissioners have been meeting in hybrid form amid the pandemic, with some of them in-person and others attending virtually. Commissioner Eric Bouchat, R-District 4, chimed in during the early portion of Thursday’s meeting with a friendly promise for his fellow commissioners.

“I’m looking forward to this vaccine coming out so I can come into the office and give Commissioner Wantz a big hug and kiss on the cheek. Without a mask,” Bouchat said.

“OK, OK. So that’s not going to happen,” Wantz said.

Added Frazier, who sat alongside Wantz: “With or without a vaccine.”

Baltimore Sun reporters Meredith Cohn and Hallie Miller contributed to this article.