Here's Where Union County COVID Vaccine Sites Have Been Announced
UNION COUNTY, NJ — New Jersey has been expanding the number of publicly listed COVID-19 vaccination sites, and the state continues to announce new locations in Union County and elsewhere (see the county’s list of vaccine sites below).
Health Commissioner Judith Perischilli said the state plans to increase the number of vaccination sites beyond 300. State officials have said the goal is to vaccinate 70 percent of the adult population by the spring.
Gov. Phil Murphy also has announced that the state just exceeded 200,000 vaccinations statewide. He also announced that New Jersey has created a county-by-county vaccine hub that reports the number of immunizations across the state. (Click the second tab, "Vaccination Overview.")
"We're working strategically and efficiently to vaccinate our frontline health care workers, law enforcement and fire professionals and long-term care center residents and staff," he said.
Health officials said not all sites are publicly listed because some are not open to the public, such as prisons and psychiatric hospitals.
Persichilli said New Jersey currently doesn't have a lot of vaccine availability, but she expects that to change soon. The incoming Biden presidential administration has said that it plans to greatly expand the number of vaccine doses available to the American public.
New Jersey recently expanded the list of eligible people, allowing police and fire professionals and people older than 65 to get the vaccine. Read more: Gov. Murphy To Expand COVID Vaccine To NJ Seniors 65 And Older
Persichilli said the state has administered at least 36 percent of vaccine doses allocated. Hospitals have administered vaccines at least 50 percent of their health care workers.
Her hope is to continue to expand the number of "mega-sites" in convention centers and large spaces, aiming for 1,000 people vaccinated a day.
Currently, vaccines are available to the following groups:
Healthcare Personnel (Phase 1A)
Paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, including, but not limited to:
Licensed healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists
Staff like receptionists, janitors, mortuary services, laboratory technicians
Consultants, per diem, and contractors who are not directly employed by the facility
Unpaid workers like health professional students, trainees, volunteers, and essential caregivers
Community health workers, doulas, and public health professionals like Medical Reserve Corps
Personnel with variable venues like EMS, paramedics, funeral staff, and autopsy workers
All workers in acute, pediatric, and behavioral health hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers
All workers in health facilities like psychiatric facilities, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and rehabs
All workers in clinic-based settings like urgent care clinics, dialysis centers, and family planning sites
All workers in long-term care settings like nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes, and others
All workers in occupational-based healthcare settings like health clinics within workplaces, shelters, jails, colleges and universities, and K-12 schools
All workers in community-based healthcare settings like PACE and Adult Living Community Nursing
All workers in home-based settings like hospice, home care, and visiting nurse services
All workers in office-based healthcare settings like physician and dental offices
All workers in public health settings like local health departments, LINCS agencies, harm reduction centers, and medicinal marijuana programs
All workers in retail, independent, and institutional pharmacies
Other paid or unpaid people who work in a healthcare setting, who may have direct or
indirect contact with infectious persons or materials, and who cannot work from home.
Long-Term Care Residents and Staff (Phase 1A)
All residents and staff of long-term and congregate care facilities, including:
Skilled nursing facilities
Veterans homes
Assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and personal care homes
Group homes like residential care homes, adult family homes, adult foster homes, and intellectual and developmental disabilities group homes
HUD 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program residences
Institutional settings like psychiatric hospitals, correctional institutions, county jails, and juvenile detention facilities (for eligible minors, e.g. 16+ years of age may be eligible for Pfizer vaccine under the emergency use authorization)
Other vulnerable, congregate, long-term settings
First Responders (Phase 1B)
Sworn law enforcement, firefighters, and other first responders, including:
New Jersey State Police troopers
Municipal and county police officers
Campus police officers
Detectives in prosecutors' offices and state agencies
State agency/authority law enforcement officers (e.g. State Park Police and Conservation Officers, Palisades Interstate Parkway Officers, Human Services police, and NJTransit police)
Investigator, Parole and Secured Facilities Officers
Aeronautical Operations Specialists
Sworn Federal Law Enforcement Officers and Special Agents
Bi-State law enforcement officers (e.g. Port Authority)
Court Security Officers
Paid and unpaid members of firefighting services (structural and wildland)
Paid and unpaid members of Search and Rescue Units including technical rescue units and HAZMAT teams
Paid and unpaid firefighters who provide emergency medical services
Paid and unpaid members of Industrial units that perform Fire, Rescue and HAZMAT services
Members of State Fire Marshal's Offices
Bi-State Fire Service Personnel (e.g. Port Authority)
Individuals at High Risk (Phase 1B)
Individuals aged 65 and older, and individuals ages 16-64 with medical conditions, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that increase the risk of severe illness from the virus. These conditions include:
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
Sickle cell disease
Smoking
Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Individuals who are pregnant and those in an immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant are also eligible but should follow CDC guidance and first discuss vaccination with their medical provider before receiving the vaccine.
Click here for that list of who is eligible for the vaccine right now, and who will be next.
As of the end of the week, 13,458 residents of Union County had been vaccinated.
List of local vaccination sites
Here is the list of Union County vaccine sites, as of the end of this week. Not all listed vaccination sites have appointments available immediately. The federal supply of vaccine to New Jersey remains limited.
As of this writing, the following four sites are vaccinating those 18 and up:
City of Elizabeth Health Department
418 Palmer St.
Elizabeth NJ, 07202
(908) 820-4250
ShopRite Pharmacy #163
76 Cenral Ave,
Clark, NJ 07066
ShopRite Pharmacy Of Elizabeth
865 West Grand St
Elizabeth, NJ 07202
Union County - Kean University
1000 Morris Avenue Union, NJ 07083
ucnj.org/covid19/covid-19-vaccination/
NOTE: The state noted that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for persons 16 years of age and older under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization, but the Moderna vaccine is recommended for individuals 18 years and older. Not all sites administer both vaccines, so it is important to check with your vaccination site before scheduling a visit to ensure you are eligible.
As of Friday, Union County's cumulative death toll was 1,424, and its total cases since last March were 40,988.
New vaccination information
The Union County Board of County Commissioners announced on Wednesday the opening of an online registration system at www.ucnj.org for those eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.
The registration system will only log those who are currently eligible to receive the vaccination. Those who are ineligible to receive vaccinations right now will not be allowed to pre-register, and must wait until they are eligible.
The county is offering the Moderna vaccine. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, including the Moderna vaccine, are a new type of vaccine that doesn't include the weakened virus, but teaches human cells to make a protein that triggers the immune response (read more about that here).
Gov. Phil Murphy reportedly said last week that he'd like to start vaccinating the general public by Memorial Day.
State and national trends
As of Friday, more than 388,000 Americans had died of the virus. (You can see which states had the highest death toll in the past week on this CDC map.)
New Jersey had its highest new case total ever from last Wednesday to Thursday, and a daily death toll of 123 people. More than 17,000 across the state have passed away from the virus.
This was the first time New Jersey topped 100 fatalities for three days in a row, since May.
Gov. Phil Murphy said 3,488 people are hospitalized with the virus statewide, 668 on ICU, 469 on ventilators. He also said 459 coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals and 449 discharged.
OTHER TRENDS
Use this link to see the updated fatality count in the United States.
More than 900 health care workers have died of the virus nationally.
Others are simultaneously fighting misinformation and hoaxes as they try to fight the virus.
HOW TO GET HELP WITH HEAT, RENT, AND MORE
During the State of Emergency in New Jersey, no tenant is permitted to be evicted from their home or apartment for the inability to pay rent. Talk to your local mayor's office if you are experiencing difficulties.
The CARES act has made money available to help with rent in each city. More information is here.
New Jersey residents can get help with heating and energy bills. Information is here.
Various other avenues of relief and benefits have also been made available, including family leave for 12 weeks if you can't work due to your child's school or camp being closed, and changes to unemployment rules to help those who were at a job for a short time, or freelancing.
LONG-TERM CARE
Recently, there were 159 long term care facilities with active outbreaks, the state Department of Health said last month. The state announced that deaths at the facilities had more than doubled since May 1.
New Jersey residents became alarmed at the high number of residents who have passed away in nursing homes, rehabs, and similar facilities. The state announced plans in May to increase testing at some long term care facilities.
The state released death toll statistics in spring for long-term care facilities like rehabs and nursing homes. See the list here.
You can report problems with long term care facilities here, or if you suspect coronavirus related misconduct, here.
Some New Jersey long-term care facilities reopened for limited visits, with precautions, in July.
Facilities began receiving the coronavirus vaccine in December and January, starting with a long-term care home in Old Bridge in December. Read about one Summit nursing home vaccinating residents and staff here.
Here are statewide coronavirus resources:
NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222
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This article originally appeared on the Westfield Patch
