Sharfstein, Wen & Beilenson: Hogan can’t explain away Maryland’s vaccine inequities. He needs a plan to fix them instead.

The confusing rollout of coronavirus vaccines in Maryland is raising serious concerns of transparency and fairness. Despite the state health department describing its top priority as “equitable vaccine allocations based on county population,” Maryland counties vary widely in the proportion of vaccinated residents, from a high of 12.4 percent receiving two shots in Worcester County to a low of 3.3 percent in Prince George’s County. When the goal is equity but the reality is nearly fourfold variation, there’s a problem. In Maryland, this problem has a racial dimension.