Maryland Department of Health to close State Center COVID-19 testing and vaccination site

Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun
Updated ·2 min read
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The COVID-19 testing and vaccination site at Baltimore’s State Center complex will close after Saturday as the Maryland Department of Health scales back services offered throughout the nearly three years of the pandemic.

The site in Madison Park, the only state-run testing and vaccination site in Baltimore, has completed more than 40,000 COVID tests and more than 12,000 vaccinations over the past 16 months, according to a news release from MDH announcing the close. The State Center location started operations in November 2021 after moving from the Baltimore Convention Center to the complex on West Preston Street.

The State Center site, operated by MDH along with the University of Maryland Medical System and Johns Hopkins Medicine, will also be closed Thursday due to a power outage, according to UMMS.

The closure comes as the state health department “is consolidating state-led COVID-19 services to focus on other important public health concerns,” according to the release, passing the baton to local health departments and medical providers. The state reducing pandemic operations is also tied with President Joe Biden’s plan to end the pair of national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11.

“It is a testament to the amazing work that so many have done here that we are now able to transition COVID services back to local health departments and health systems, knowing that Maryland is in good hands with our medical professionals and local partners statewide,” MDH Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott said in a statement.

The state currently operates two testing sites in addition to the State Center — one at Bowie Health Center and another at Calvert and Bladen Streets in Annapolis.

Baltimore residents seeking COVID-19 testing and vaccinations can access a weekly list of clinics run by the Baltimore City Health Department and community partners, or find other providers at covidvax.maryland.gov and covidtest.maryland.gov, or call the GoVAX Call Center at 855-MD-GOVAX.

Those seeking “Test-to-Treat” services can call 410-649-6122 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or completing an online self-referral form.