The Montgomery County Food Council’s Online Food Assistance Resource Directory lists more than 100 food assistance sites in the County. This directory is searchable by location, food assistance type, accessibility and many other special features. Mapa de Recursos de Comida El Directorio de recursos de asistencia alimentaria en línea del Consejo de alimentos del condado de Montgomery enumera más de 100 sitios de asistencia alimentaria en el condado y se puede buscar por ubicación, tipo de asistencia alimentaria, accesibilidad y muchas otras características especiales. Seniors looking for meal sites can search for them here Visit infoMONTGOMERY’s Community Support page to access other useful information for those in need of immediate  and on-going assistance.  

Getting a COVID-19 updated booster shot

 

Last week, the FDA and CDC approved new Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 bivalent boosters that are specifically tailored to combat the two most prevalent omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5. Beginning  September 7, the vaccines are widely available in the DMV.

 

The bivalent vaccines can only be used as a booster shot at least two months after the completion of the primary series – or initial required shots – or following a previous booster shot. The Pfizer bivalent vaccine is authorized for those 12 years of age and older. The Moderna bivalent vaccine is authorized for use in people 18 years of age and older. More.

  You can get an updated booster at any of the Montgomery County-sponsored clinics or at a private provider, such as a Giant or CVS pharmacy. Appointments are recommended, especially at county clinics. The federal vaccines.gov site provides information on pharmacies and other providers that have available booster appointments and walk-ins are welcome. Also see Maryland’s vaccine locator.  

For those concerned about mRNA used in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Novavax offers an alternative. It’s a traditional protein-based vaccine and does not use mRNA. People aged 12 and over who have not completed another primary COVID-19 vaccine series are eligible for Novavax, which is administered in two doses three week apart.  

The county offers Novavax vaccines at its clinics by appointment only. Call the county’s COVID-19 call center at 240-777-2982 to request appointments or make an appointment online.

 How Do I Get a COVID-19 Test in Montgomery County?

Testing Clinic locations

Seniors and people with disabilities: get a free ride to your COVID-19 testing clinic

Visit one of the county run or sponsored Testing clinics for PCR testing for anyone who lives, works, or regularly visits Montgomery County.

We test people of all ages. If you bring young children, we may ask you to help them get tested. . Appointments are available, or Walk-in on a First-Come, First-Serve basis

Testing is free. If you have insurance, we will ask for your information, but there are no co-pays or deductibles.

We do not require a government ID or a doctor’s order.

Our clinics provide nasal swab tests. You take the sample yourself. The tests are molecular tests, also called PCR tests. These diagnostic tests detect genetic material of the COVID-19 virus using a lab technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We do not offer antibody testing at our clinics.

At-home rapid tests
Order free rapid tests for at-home delivery from the US government.

Place Your Order for Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests

Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com. Here’s what you need to know about your order:

Limit of one order per residential address

One order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests

Orders will ship free starting in late January

Visit the USPS Site here

Get rapid test kits at any one of 19 Montgomery County Public Library branches.

Rapid test kits are free to Montgomery County residents.
Bring a form of proof of residency. Examples include a Driver’s license, ID, or a bill that shows you are a resident of Montgomery County.

Kit pickup is inside each library. You might enter at a side entrance. If you come early, you may wait outdoors. The line moves fast. If you need support, please ask a site attendant.

Residents can get two kits per person per day. Each kit contains two tests.

We have a limited supply of kits per site. We update this page as locations run out.

Providers can request rapid test kits for their organization or private school. Request COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits for your organization

The Excel Beyond the Bell (EBB) Collaborative is now open for Spring 2022 Registration at our EBB Partner Schools

Odessa Shannon

Montgomery Village

Loiederman

Neelsville

Argyle

Roberto Clemente

Forest Oak

Francis Scot Key
Excel Beyond the Bell is currently in eight Montgomery County middle schools: Argyle in Wheaton, Roberto Clemente in Germantown, A. Mario Loiederman, Francis Scott Key in Silver Spring, Forest Oak in Gaithersburg, Neelsville in Germantown, Odessa Shannon in Silver Spring and Montgomery Village in Montgomery Village. At no cost to families, the program provides students with immediate access to after-school recreational and social programming, academic support, hot nutritional meals, and bus transportation home.
EBB is open to any student from the identified schools and operates four days a week in two sessions from the end of the school day until 5:30pm. Activities include career exploration; leadership and civic engagement; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education, creative arts; social-emotional learning; sports & physical activity; health and wellness. Through the encouragement of healthy leisure choices, students are exploring new interests, building successful positive relationships, and increasing involvement with their school and community.

 COVID-19 Vaccinations for 5 to 11 Year Olds

Coming Soon! COVID-19 Vaccinations for 5 to 11 Year Olds

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for 5-to-11-year-olds is expected to be authorized for emergency use in the coming days. MCPS is partnering with the county’s Department of Health and Human Services and Holy Cross Hospital to offer a number of free vaccination clinics for children at schools and county sites once the vaccine is available. Clinic dates, times and locations will be released soon. Parents/guardians who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine and would like one, or those who need a booster, will be able to do so at these clinics as well.

• Read the full message here
• Please indicate your interest in having your child vaccinated by completing this form.

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Student Vaccination

Daytime, Evening, and Weekend Vaccination Clinics

To meet the needs of working families and members of the community who have not found it convenient to get vaccinated, the county continues to offers smaller in-community vaccination clinics. During July, daytime, evening, and weekend free vaccinations will be available across the county, including Takoma Park and Briggs Chaney.

Briggs Chaney Vaccination Clinic

In East County, free daytime, evening, and weekend vaccinations are available at the Briggs Chaney Park & Ride Lot, 3300 Briggs Chaney Road, Silver Spring, MD 20904. Walk-up vaccinations are offered Tuesday, July 6th through Sunday, July 11th, with daytime and evening appointments Monday- Friday, 12:00 pm-8:00 pm and weekend availability on Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 pm-5:00 pm. To make an appointment or to check Montgomery County’s website for other available clinics, click here.

Takoma Park/Long Branch Vaccination Clinics

Free vaccinations will be available at Clifton Park Baptist Church, 8818 Piney Branch Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20903. The clinic will be hosted on Tuesdays from July 15-July 27 from 1:00 pm-7:00 pm. Walk-ups are accepted.

Free vaccinations will also be available in the parking lot of the Americana Grocery of Maryland, 8541 Piney Branch Road, Silver Spring, MD 20901. This clinic will be offered on most Thursdays in July, including the 15th, 19th, and 26th from 1:00 pm-7:00 pm.

The vaccines offered at both sites will be Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, allowing individuals aged 12 and older to be vaccinated. Free parking is available.

For a complete list of COVID-19 vaccination clinics, visit http://covidvax.maryland.gov/ MARYLAND IS IN PHASE 1C:

• All licensed, registered and certified health care providers
• Front line hospital staff
• Nursing home residents and staff
• Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Assisted living, independent living, behavioral health and developmentally disabled group homes, and other congregate facilities
• Law enforcement and firefighters, EMS
• Education staff, including K-12 teachers, support staff and daycare providers
• Correctional health care staff and officers
• Public safety workers not covered in Phase 1A
• Health care workers not covered in Phase 1A, including but not limited
• to lab services, public health, vaccine manufacturing and other health care professions
• Front line judiciary staff
• Continuity of government
• Food/agriculture production, critical manufacturing, U.S. Postal Service, public mass transit, grocery store employees
• Veterinarians and support staff
• Clergy and other essential support for houses of worship
• Adults age 65 and older

If you are included in one of the groups listed above, you are currently eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

At this time, the federal government is giving the state approximately 10,000 doses/day for over 1.5 million people who are eligible. Supply is very limited.

Find a Vaccination Clinic Near You

If you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, enter your address, ZIP code or location here to find a vaccination clinic near you.

Montgomery County has allocated funding to help cover the cost of facility fee rentals for youth sports programs that primarily serve vulnerable and/or low-income youth. The program will administer the funds through the Facility Fee Assistance Program.

The County’s Community Use of Public Facilities (CUPF) interagency coordinating board’s programs must be free to participants or charge only a nominal fee to qualify for the program.

Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, only school fields are available for purposes of this subsidy program. Requests for funds can be submitted for dates of use between March 15 and Aug.15.

Only fields at elementary and middle school sites can be requested at this time, and only for the following times:

• March 15-June 16 (or last day of MCPS school year): end of the school day until sundown.
• Weekends and June 17-Aug. 15: 7 a.m. to sundown.

To apply for funding consideration, complete the online application.

For more information about the program, email cupf@montgomerycountymd.gov.

For Immediate Release: Monday, January 11, 2021

Montgomery County has leveraged federal COVID-19 funding to install outdoor public Wi-Fi at 10 Public Library (MCPL) locations: Aspen Hill, Davis (N. Bethesda), Gaithersburg, Germantown, Maggie Nightingale (Poolesville),  Marilyn Praisner (Burtonsville), Rockville Memorial, Twinbrook, Wheaton, and White Oak branches; and in front of the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza.

This free service is available 24 hours a day in parking lots adjacent to the library buildings. Additional coverage is provided in grass area behind the Davis branch, in the park from the library to the playground area at Wheaton, and in the Rockville Town Square.  Wi-Fi coverage varies by location.  Customers are advised to follow COVID-19 safety recommendations and are required to adhere to executive orders and Health Officer directives when using the services.

 “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought greater awareness of the impacts of the widening digital disparity, which often deprives community members of opportunities to participate in important daily-life activities such as remote learning, accessing workforce development and employment information or staying up-to-date on news and information,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “The work of MCPL and the Department of Technology Services (DTS) to secure funding to provide Wi-Fi availability for outside use at 11 County facilities is another step in working to ensure that all community members have equitable access to reliable connectivity.”

“Outdoor public Wi-Fi will provide more places for people without home Wi-Fi to access the Libraries’ early literacy, education, workforce development and health and wellness information and the robust digital programs and services,” said MCPL Director Anita Vassallo.

MCPL and the Department of Technology Services (DTS) applied for but were not awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services federal COVID-19 grant.  DTS then worked to leverage other federal CARES Act COVID-19 grant funding to install the free outdoor Wi-Fi access. 

“With the support of the County’s Chief Administrative Officer, we thought strategically about how we could leverage remaining federal COVID-19 funding to help families and small businesses respond to COVID-19,” said Montgomery County Chief Information Officer and Director of DTS Gail M. Roper. “Internet is essential during the pandemic and DTS is proud to work with MCPL to find ways to expand internet access for those that do not have it at home. I am also pleased that the Poolesville branch was selected to support small business owners and will also provide more internet access for rural Montgomery County.” 

The 10 library branches were chosen by analyzing U.S. Census and MCPL data.  Seven library branches were selected by mapping Census data neighborhoods with lower incomes and households without home internet. The Pew Research Center for Internet & Technology reported that as of 2019, 18 percent of adults with incomes less than $30,000 do not have home internet access, compared to only 2 percent of adults with incomes greater than $75,000, and 85 percent and 86 percent  of Black and Hispanic adults use the internet compared to 92 percent of White adults.  Median per capita income in the Census Block Groups served by the 7 libraries is $35,372 and the population is 27 percent Black and 28 percent Hispanic. Three additional locations (Davis, Rockville and Wheaton Regional) were selected because prior to the pandemic they had greater participation in MCPL small business programs.

“Small business owners who relied on MCPL indoor Wi-Fi to run their businesses asked the County for help and we were glad to assist them,” said Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Small Economic Development Jerome Fletcher.  “Small businesses are critical to County’s economy recovery and more outdoor public Wi-Fi is another way the County is offering relief to small businesses.” 

For more information about the outdoor Wi-Fi services contact MCPL Assistant Director James Donaldson at James.Donaldson@montgomerycountymd.gov or 240-777-0030.

For more information about the County’s digital equity initiatives contact ultraMontgomery Director Mitsuko Herrera at Mitsuko.Herrera@montgmerycountymd.gov or 240-777-2928.   

Release ID: 21-020