Maryland Department of Health Maryland Department of Health expands GoVAX campaign, welcomes Senator Melony G. Griffith as new Ambassador

April 5, 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 expands GoVAX campaign, welcomes Senator Melony G. Griffith as new Ambassador

Baltimore, MD –The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) today expanded Maryland’s GoVAX campaign, adding Senator Melony G. Griffith to its growing list of Ambassadors. GoVAX encourages all Marylanders to protect themselves, their families and communities by getting vaccinated when they become eligible.

“Senator Griffith’s visibility and dedicated service record are incredibly important attributes—not only as our newest Ambassador, but as an advocate for Prince Georgians and all Marylanders during this unprecedented time,” said MDH Acting Secretary Dennis R. Schrader. “We’re so pleased to have her participate in our GoVAX campaign.”

“We’re reaching out to communities and trying to spread the word that the vaccinations are safe, effective and will become more available in the weeks and months to come,” said Sen. Griffith. “The more of us that get vaccinated, the safer Prince George’s will be; get vaccinated to protect yourself and the people you love.”

Sen. Griffith is the President Pro Tempore of the Maryland Senate representing District 25, Prince George’s County. A member of the House of Delegates from 1999-2015 and a member of the Senate since 2019, she has a background as a clinical social worker and public health specialist. She joins the state’s growing list of GoVAX Ambassadors, including:

Governor Larry Hogan and First Lady Yumi Hogan
Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford
20th U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams
UMBC President Dr. Freeman Hrabowski and Retired Vice President of T. Rowe Price Jacqueline C. Hrabowski
Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk
Bishop Walter Scott Thomas of New Psalmist Baptist Church
Rev. Matthew Watley and Shawna Watley of Kingdom Fellowship AME Church
Dr. Kathleen Page, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Brigadier General Janeen Birckhead, Maryland National Guard and Head of the Maryland Vaccine Equity Task Force
Coach Juan Dixon, Coppin State University Men’s Basketball Coach

Sen. Griffith’s public service announcement is now airing on television and will soon debut on social media, with a longer-format video interview to be added at covidLINK.maryland.gov. MDH will continue to add GoVAX Ambassadors throughout the campaign to encourage all Marylanders to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

To date, Maryland has administered more than 2.9 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, contributing to more than 1.1 million 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.

To see the latest COVID-19 data for Maryland, 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.