Montgomery Community Media

Novavax, a vaccine development company headquartered in Gaithersburg, says its COVID-19 vaccine candidate showed 89.3% efficacy in UK clinical trials. The UK study enrolled more than 15,000 volunteers, according to a statement from Novavax on Thursday. More details will be released as data comes in, the company said. Phase 2b results in South Africa showed […]

County Executive Marc Elrich announced that Montgomery County is teaming up with Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) to begin vaccinating eligible residents and Montgomery County Public Schools employees this week. The aim of the initiative is to vaccinate as many teachers as possible to prepare for schools to reopen. The announcement comes as Gov. Larry Hogan […]

Montgomery County officials are vaccinating residents and front line health care employees who work in the county as much as possible but could vaccinate more people against COVID-19 if they had additional doses, they said Jan. 25 during a news briefing. On Monday, the county entered Phase 1B, which includes people who are at least […]

Novavax, a vaccine development company headquartered in Gaithersburg, has initiated Phase 3 for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.  It is the fifth candidate to reach Phase 3 in the U.S., after Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen. Novavax is looking for volunteers to participate in vaccine trials, particularly those who are part of at-risk populations like Hispanics, […]

Montgomery County has launched an online survey for residents to better understand the community’s concerns about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The county plans to use the feedback to answer questions and reach communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic. The county will also use the feedback to create a communications plan to educate […]

Montgomery County officials expect to receive about half the amount of COVID-19 vaccine doses they requested for this week, Deputy Health Officer Dr. James Bridgers said during a council meeting Tuesday. County Health and Human Services (DHHS) requested about 12,000 doses this week, however the county was allotted 6,700 as of Tuesday morning, Bridgers said. […]

Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines, manufactured by Moderna, on Wednesday morning. According to a county news release, this first shipment of vaccines is reserved for county health staffers who are engaged in managing the coronavirus response—including Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles. 📢 […]

To ensure that the Pfizer vaccine doesn’t spoil, it needs to be kept extremely cold. One company in Gaithersburg, Roberts Oxygen, is doing its part to help keep the vaccine safe by manufacturing dry ice. Reggie Wright, the regional sales manager for Roberts Oxygen, explained how dry ice—which is 109 degrees below Fahrenheit—is manufactured. “We […]

As COVID-19 vaccines are starting to roll out across Montgomery County hospitals, County Executive Marc Elrich is warning the public to expect mask wearing to continue into the future. Elrich said at a media briefing Dec. 16 that once COVID-19 vaccines are widely available, people should prepare to keep wearing a mask even after they […]

At a press briefing on Dec. 16, Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles said the Pfizer vaccine should be arriving at all hospitals in the county Wednesday or Thursday. He added that the vaccine doses will also be distributed to pharmacies, which will work to get the doses out to nursing homes and long-term […]