As mass vaccination sites ramp up, Gov. Larry Hogan updated Marylanders on a timeline for vaccinating, plus a problem in the supply chain.

As Maryland scales up its infrastructure to support mass vaccination efforts, Gov. Larry Hogan said a disruption in the supply chain is slowing the state's ability to protect residents from COVID-19.

"We are in a race between variants and vaccines," Hogan said at a news conference Friday.

Maryland has put in place infrastructure that would allow for 100,000 vaccines to be administered in one day, and he reported Friday the state hit a record-high of over 80,000 vaccines given out Thursday. He said the effort was to vaccinate people before the variants spread to Maryland.

"It's popping up in regions as it has throughout this crisis," Hogan said. "It goes from one part of the country to the other. Now the entire Northeast it lit up, and we're the only ones who aren't."

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Viruses constantly mutate as they replicate over and over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks the coronavirus variants on its website. The CDC advises the COVID-19 variants "seem to spread more easily and quickly," which could lead to an increase in cases of the virus.

"We don't have a magic wall that's going to keep it out," Hogan said of the variants spreading from New England and Pennsylvania. Instead, he said vaccines were the best defense.

"That's why we've given 82,000 shots yesterday. It's why we signed up 100,000 people on our mass vaccination website yesterday," Hogan said. "It's why, this week, I opened up two more mass vaccination sites, and I'm opening two more next week."