Maryland’s largest county is not moving forward with plans to impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate—though officials are keeping open the option of imposing it in the future. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, a Democrat, pushed for the mandate, which would have required all businesses to screen customers for proof of COVID-19 vaccination. But when the Montgomery County Council held a hearing in January on the proposal, many business owners and residents raised objections to the plan, prompting the council to push back a decision. Now, with COVID-19 cases down considerably after soaring earlier in the winter, and other jurisdictions rolling back mandates, the council is keeping the proposal tabled, at least for the time being. Montgomery County Council President Gabe Albornoz told reporters in a recent briefing that one reason for avoiding a vote was to see how mandates worked in neighboring areas, principally Washington. “There were many concerns and …